


Reckless Nights You Won't Regret

by AmaranthineRose



Series: Set the World on Fire [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Gen, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, slow burn Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:08:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthineRose/pseuds/AmaranthineRose
Summary: The world changes, and the Avengers change with it. As an emboldened HYDRA continues to cause chaos and new enemies make their way into the fray, the Avengers assemble to defend the world from threats it can't fight against. All the while, the Avengers and those around them must adapt to the new circumstances of their lives - the good, the bad, and the changes they cannot avoid. In the center of it all are Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter, who find themselves slowly leaning on each other more and more in a world where neither quite feel they belong.Or, Stark Tower becomes Avengers Tower, the Avengers become a family and a team, the breaks down the road will be more painful than any might have expected, and Steve and Sharon rebuild together.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Sharon Carter/Steve Rogers
Series: Set the World on Fire [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/777813
Comments: 25
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back, baby.
> 
> It's been a very long year, but with Endgame and everything else in the Marvel pipeline, I really want to get back to this universe. This is going to be more likely than not the longest story in the series, and it's going to span about three years in-universe. So, it's going to be a long one. Characters and pairings will be updated with each arc of the story.
> 
> We're Insane But Not Alone has not been fully edited just yet to comply with my change in plans - I will note when it has, but the most important things to know are that Bucky has chosen to remain with Coulson's SHIELD team and Peggy Carter's intel storage unit was destroyed in an act of arson.
> 
> Title comes from Macklemore and Kesha's Good Old Days. The title of this arc is from Fleurie's Soldier.

**Part I: Shiver to that Broken Beat**

* * *

**October 2014 – Avengers Tower, New York**

A week after Peggy Carter’s storage unit in Pennsylvania was destroyed by arson, Sharon started as Head of Asset Management at Stark Industries – and promptly realized that she had an absolute mess to deal with.

To his credit, Tony had not been exaggerating the benefits or pay. He ended up taking the corner office, but the entirety of one wall in Sharon’s office was glass that provided a beautiful view of Manhattan. The furniture was practical and modern, with a small couch against the one wall, coffee table in front. A desktop computer, laptop, StarkPad, and new cell phone were waiting for her, along with a handwritten note from Pepper promising lunch and a trip to shop for decorations after she had the baby.

The new renovations to Avengers Tower, which Tony officially christened as complete less than two weeks ago, made it into some bizarre combination of a military barrack and luxury hotel, designed to house and serve any needs the Avengers might have. Each of Avengers had their own office – though it was pretty much expected by all that neither Clint nor Thor would be spending much time in theirs. Steve’s office was directly across from Sharon’s, and Tony’s own office bordered Sharon’s. Maria, who had started back in June, was already very settled into the office next to Steve and across from Tony.

On the floor below was the full gym and complete pool and sauna, with the hangar and weapons lock-up on the floor below that, the first of the designated Avenger’s floors. Taking up half the floor above the common area, leaving a high ceiling for the other half, was Bruce and Tony’s combination lab. The common area itself was so ridiculously plush that Sharon was convinced Tony had spent a year of her paycheck on it.

The floor above that resembled barracks – if rooms that could put a luxury hotel room to shame could be counted as barracks. Part of the floor was a full apartment, soon to be occupied by Thor, Jane, and their baby son Erik. Bruce had taken a suite of sorts with his own living room and kitchen, on the same floor as the barracks. One remaining room was currently being renovated into a daycare, with Tony’s new hire Willow assisting with it. Tony and Pepper were up in the above penthouse, and their baby would join them soon enough.

The tour Sharon took herself on convinced her that she was pretty sure she could live in the Tower itself. She’d only be there until Friday, when her apartment was ready for her. She’d found a gorgeous basement apartment through a journalist friend of Tommy and Will’s, who was thrilled to have someone living there who could watch the place while she traveled and clearly trusted that she would not cause problems. She even had free access to the backyard.

Things were coming together, slowly but surely. As such, Sharon was glad she could throw herself completely into work.

There were two conference rooms in the main office area, and Sharon took over the smaller one. There was an electronic whiteboard against one wall, now filled with pictures, notes, and anything else that Sharon could possibly think of that could help lay out exactly how HYDRA was working.

They had a mess to deal with in what the HYDRA leak had brought to light. And Sharon knew that it was a verifiable treasure trove of intel – provided they could find the bits of gold among the trash.

Sharon called it the HYDRA Intel Board. Some of her more annoying coworkers were calling it other things.

“You spend your first day on your new job making a murder board?”

“It’s not a murder board,” Sharon replied with the exasperation of a woman who’d been forced to defend said murder board too many times.

“It literally has long, color-coded strings.” A pause. “Okay, maybe it’s more of a conspiracy nut board.”

“I’ve heard you talk semantics and angles about the Kennedy assassination the second you get three drinks in you, and you’re calling me the conspiracy nut?”

“Well, takes one to know one.”

StarkPad in hand, Sharon rolled her eyes but smiled as she moved a somewhat grainy surveillance photo of Anthony Masters on the far side of the board. A red line connected it to a picture of HYDRA’s logo, which already had at least a dozen connecting strings – Rumlow, Thea Schmidt, black and white photos to represent deceased HYDRA agents such as Jasper Sitwell and Jack Rollins.

So many enemies. So many threats.

And so little time for the Avengers to figure their shit out and remember how to be a team.

“Is it a conspiracy if we know we’re right?” Sharon wondered.

As he sipped at his coffee, Clint shrugged. He was still recovering, the last remnants of bruises fading from his face and nothing of HYDRA brainwashing in his head, much to their relief. He’d been brainwashed once. None of them wanted him to go through it again.

“I don’t know, but I still think the board is overkill,” he admitted.

“Needs to be done when we have so much intel to sift through. JARVIS can only do so much,” Sharon replied breezily. She stepped away from the board and leaned against the table next to him. “Alright, Hawkeye, am I missing anything?”

Clint’s eyes narrowed as he glanced over the board. He tilted his head, gesturing towards one end a moment later. “You’re not putting Ulysses Klaue as HYDRA?” Clint wondered, frowning as he sipped at his coffee.

“No,” Sharon admitted. “I’m leaning more towards the theory that he himself is not HYDRA, he just had a good business opportunity.” She glanced back at him before asking, “Do you think he’s legitimately HYDRA, or a HYDRA ally? This board isn’t set in stone and you have more experience with Klaue than I do.”

He shook his head. “No, I think you’re right. I got a slightly insane, ruthless businessman vibe, but not so much a Nazi one. Unless we get hard evidence he’s HYDRA, he’s at least willing to work with them.” The archer hummed. “I hope he made plenty of money on selling me.”

“I’m sure he had a few nice steak dinners from it.”

“Well, then it was worth it.” Clint chuckled before standing up, glancing over the board before asking, “You’re not putting an MIA board up? For those missing from SHIELD and the HYDRA uprising?”

“Coulson’s team is going to handle looking for missing agents, we agreed that’s his jurisdiction so he can run recruitment.” Sharon frowned at him when she saw the scowl on his face. “Don’t give me that look. I’ve got to keep talking with Coulson so that we’re sharing intel. The last thing I want is for us running into each other in the field and causing a complete mess.”

“Yeah, I know.” Clint put his coffee cup down and studied the board, frowning when he saw his picture. “Oh, great, I’m on this part of the board.”

“The captivity string, yeah. You’re not the only one.” Sharon gestured at it, and more pictures came up. “All known captives of HYDRA – and outside of you, all confirmed to be considered candidates for the Thunderbolt program. And I'm not willing to rule out that you were a candidate, considering that brainwashing you was on the agenda.”

“You were kidnapped too, and there was no sign they wanted you for Thunderbolts, even if you were a brainwashing target. Or that they were dumb enough to think they make Cap join the team,” Clint pointed out.

Sharon paused. “Shit, I didn’t put me and Steve on it. That’s a whole new thread.” She stood back up, sighing in frustration as she pulled up a picture of Steve, and one of her, putting threads between them and the grainy picture of Thea Schmidt from the hospital security footage. “I’m never getting done with this.”

“That’s what makes it a conspiracy board, 13. Turn over one stone, find another secret.”

“Shut up, Hawkeye.”

Clint laughed, smirking back over at her before standing and moving to the coffee maker at the far side of the room. “Do we have a priority here?” the archer wondered as he replaced the filter. “Because I think we need a plan on where to start if we want to get anything done.”

“Take down whatever big HYDRA bases we can, try and control the chaos, and deal with the Thunderbolt program. Steve and Tony agreed that’s where we need to start.”

In her honest opinion, Steve and Tony’s plan was too broad to be effective. They needed to narrow down and focus on a single target. Sharon sighed, gesturing at the board again, directing the movement towards the man who she knew would most likely pop up very soon.

Anthony Masters’ image became clearer, coming forward along with everyone who’d been a confirmed candidate of the program. The Thunderbolt program was something that genuinely worried Sharon. The idea of HYDRA forming a team that could take on the Avengers… things could go downhill fast. And the best way to stop that was to stop this team before it could even form.

“All those marked for the Thunderbolts safe?” Clint asked.

Sharon nodded. “Dimitria Kravinoff, gifted, is living under Stark Industries protection in New York. Donnie Gill, enhanced, is safe at an undisclosed location while Mia researches how we can break the brainwashing, and Tony’s planning to relocate him somewhere after he’s confirmed safe. Sora Larsen is still in London with Thor, but when he comes over here, she's planning on going in the wind. She's agreed to let Thor keep the Berserker staff though. It’ll be going into our weapons lock-up once he gets here.”

“And the Abomination’s dead.” Clint’s eyes flickered to the black and white side-by-side images of Emil Blonsky and the Abomination.

“The Greek navy found his body eighteen hours after Thor sunk the _Lerna_. The body’s been completed destroyed and disposed of.” Bruce was relieved knowing that Blonsky was taken care of. And after seeing what Blonsky had done to Harlem, Sharon couldn’t lie and say she mourned his death.

Clint shook his head. “Ross wanted Blonsky to be an Avenger.”

“Despite the evidence to the contrary, Ross thought he could be controlled.” Sharon sighed before adding, “And so did HYDRA, I guess.”

“Both tend to think that about a lot of people.”

Sharon and Clint both glanced to the entrance. Natasha was in a pair of yoga pants, her hair held carefully back by a headband, beads of sweat gleaming on her pale skin. The redhead took a deep drink of her water bottle before walking in, pulling a chair out from the far side of the conference room table and putting her feet up.

“It never goes well for them, does it?” Clint wondered as he sat back down on the table. His hand reached out and squeezed his partner’s ankle.

Natasha snorted. “They’re also stupid about who they think they can control. They thought they could control you and Sharon, and you’re both stubborn enough to argue with a brick wall if you thought it was wrong.”

Without a word, Sharon and Clint silently shared a fist-bump and smirk. Natasha rolled her green eyes fondly before scanning the board. Her face quickly grew serious.

“If I can offer my opinion-“

“We both know you will,” Sharon interjected.

“ - I think we need to focus on the Thunderbolts,” Natasha continued, ignoring Sharon’s interjection. “The Thunderbolts and making it clear to HYDRA that the Avengers are ready to fight them. They’ve been quiet. The last time they acted was taking you and Steve.”

Clint frowned and looked back at his partner. “You think they’re waiting.”

Sharon glanced between the two. Clint knew Natasha better than anyone, and vice versa. If that was Clint’s best guess towards Natasha’s line of thinking, Sharon was inclined to listen. And considering that Natasha in general was competent at everything, she was even more so inclined to pay attention.

Natasha hummed and sipped at her water bottle. “We’re in a stalemate right now. Technically, both sides have made moves since the HYDRA uprising. They tried to kill Steve in the hospital and we fought them off. They kidnapped Sora Larsen in London. Thor lead a rescue to get her out and sunk a HYDRA ship.”

“They kidnapped me and Steve, and you launched the rescue with Sam and Coulson,” Sharon continued, sighing as she followed Natasha’s logical thought process. “And then the last move was us – we attacked their gulag to get Clint out.”

Natasha shrugged lightly, as if she was speaking of something as casual and light as the weather. “Like I said. Stalemate. We’re both waiting to see who makes the next move.”

And whatever their plan might be, Sharon doubted that it would mean anything good for the Avengers.

“I think we should make that first move,” Clint suggested. “Make it clear that we’re not going to just react, we’re going to act. Find a base, take it down brick by brick.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea until we’ve got all six of you,” Sharon said. It made more sense to her. “Show them that the six of you are a united front, make it clear that you’re going to fight together.” But they wouldn’t be able to do that until their last Avenger arrived.

The archer seemed to understand exactly what they would be waiting for. “Do we have a date for Thor arriving?” Clint asked.

“December 14th,” Natasha responded. “I talked to him the other day, trying to get him to come sooner. Jane has commitments to the Royal Observatory until then, and Thor’s not leaving her or their son alone in London. Can’t say I blame him after what his friend went through, and especially not when he’s got a baby now.”

Sharon swiped a screen over on her StarkPad a moment later, moving some images from her conspiracy board. “He say anything else about getting Sora Larsen here?” she asked as she pulled the image of Sora up front. Thor had brought up the topic to Tony after the _Lerna,_ if Sora would be welcome there. "It might be safer for her to stay close."

She looked so young, but apart from Steve, Bucky and Thor, she was older than all of them. Both Thor and Tony had given her a glowing recommendation from the fight at the _Lerna_. While Maria was focused on recruitment for Stark from SHIELD refugees, she was also keeping an eye out for anyone who could potentially become an Avenger. Maria had brought it up to her, and Sharon couldn't disagree - just as Sora had been a Thunderbolt candidate, she was a prime Avengers candidate. They couldn't be a team of six forever.

Tony had brought the idea up to Thor, and he had agreed to think it over, but he hadn't brought it up to her yet from what Sharon understood. With everything going on with Thor and his friends, she could understand.

Natasha crossed her ankles, leaning back in the chair. “From what Tony told me, Thor hasn't brought up Sora being a potential Avenger to Sora herself. Sora's got a lot of demons to face right now - and she's very, very worried about Daniel Whitehall .”

There was a sigh of annoyance from Sharon before a grainy picture of an old man in prison garb appeared on the murder board. “We don’t have a more recent photo,” Sharon admitted. “This… this is the best we’ve got, but we’re betting he did something to himself, extended his life span.”

“Related to Sora or not?” Clint wondered. “Because if he found a way to make himself part Asgardian…”

Sharon shook her head. “If what he did to himself relied on Sora, he never would have let her go so easy.” She glanced back up before saying, “Some of the old files in the Playground talked about a girl from China who was apparently immortal. I’d place my bet on her being involved somehow, maybe after Pierce released Whitehall from jail.”

“Thor made her promise that she would reach out if she was found,” Natasha replied. “She’s very eager not to be taken by HYDRA again, so I doubt she’ll try and handle anything on her own.”

Sharon minimized the images on screen with a nod, bringing them back to the main intel screen. “Whitehall’s on our list of known HYDRA leaders, along with Schmidt and a few others. But I want a good picture of who’s at their heads.”

“Always good to know who we’re fighting. Beyond the faceless mooks doing that ridiculous pose, at least.” Sharon glanced to the door, unsurprised to see Tony coming in with machine grease on his face and a smoothie in hand.

She chose not to comment on the bags under her old friend’s eyes as he made himself at home in the conference room. “Oh, look.” Tony plopped down in the chair parallel to Natasha. “Shar’s making a crazy person board on her first day, that’s dedication.”

Sharon rolled her eyes and didn’t look back at him. “You know, I went through like four hours of anti-hostile workplace training. I can report you.”

“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t get to play with your crazy person board.”

“I’ve been calling it a murder board.”

“You know, Barton, I like that better. I’m adopting it.”

Sharon rolled her eyes, exchanging a long-suffering look with Natasha. “We’re surrounded by idiots.”

“Thor, Banner, and Rogers have some promise.”

“Rogers literally jumped out of an elevator, through a glass roof, and onto the lobby floor of the Triskelion, and then proceeded to drop his shield into the Potomac when he was fighting Barnes on the Project Insight helicarriers.”

“…I said _some_ promise.”

“Insulting me already?” The super soldier in question was in the doorway, his winter jacket and hat still on. He shrugged it off a moment later, hanging it and a scarf over a chair. His cheeks and the tips of his ears were still red from the cold. “You’re off to an early start. It’s not even noon yet.”

“Oh, Steve, it’s never too early to make fun of you all,” Natasha replied, smirking as she looked back at him.

“The real insults will come if you call my HYDRA board here a murder board,” Sharon warned.

Steve raised his hands, stepping forward as he watched it. “I’m about to add something to this that’s going to ruin our days.” He looked back at Sharon before saying, “We need to make a MIA thread – about those from HYDRA who are MIA. And add Rumlow to it.”

That got a reaction from the three former SHIELD agents in the room. Natasha moved her feet from the desk, sitting up and staring in surprise at him. Clint grit his teeth and set the mug down, and Sharon felt her face go a bit paler as she turned completely to look at him.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Clint said, looking back over towards Nat. “You told me he was crushed under the Triskelion.”

“Yeah, and survived with a shit ton of damage,” Natasha replied. “As in it looked almost impossible as if he was going to walk or breathe on his own again.” She looked back at Steve before demanding, “What happened?”

“Disappeared from the military hospital he was being held at… in July.” Steve gave a surprisingly dark smile as he said, “According to his secretary, General Ross forgot to inform us until this morning. And of course, called my personal cell phone rather than Sharon or Hill.”

“An understandable mistake,” Sharon deadpanned.

The super soldier scoffed. “Could have happened to anyone.”

“Someone’s still pissed we’re shielding Banner from him,” Clint muttered.

“I’m sure me and Thor sending the Abomination to the bottom of the ocean didn’t help,” Tony admitted. He sipped at his smoothie briefly before adding, “Even though, you know, Blonsky was trying to kill us all.”

Natasha already had her phone out. “You told Sam, right?” she asked. “Rumlow held a grudge on the best of days in SHIELD, and Sam’s the reason why he was trapped there.”

“He knows,” Steve assured her. “He’s keeping an eye out for himself and for Mia, and they’re both prepared to get up here if he shows up. I don’t doubt Rumlow would go after others to get to any of us.”

Sharon closed her eyes, trying to hold back a groan. “New rule. No going anywhere near Ross or any of his people. If we need an Armed Forces contact, I go to Sergeant Brian Talbot. He’s smart and he doesn’t let petty grudges hold him back.”

“His brother hates SHIELD,” Natasha pointed out.

Sharon raised a brow at her before pointing out, “Glenn is Air Force, and besides, I think that’s Coulson’s problem, don’t you? I do trust Brian though.”

“Brian as in your ex Brian?” Tony wondered.

The blonde sighed and looked to the ceiling. “Yes, that Brian. It was amicable, and also almost three years ago.”

“You trust him?” Steve asked, heading off whatever teasing he knew would come from the other three.

“With my life,” Sharon replied without hesitation. “He’s a good guy, and he knows that we’re about the only ones with a chance at doing significant damage to HYDRA.”

“Then I trust him too. Go to him if we need anything.” He’d learned to trust Sharon’s judgement of people, and they needed everyone they could get. Steve’s eyes flickered back to the board, feeling for the briefest of seconds the same overwhelming feeling he had when he realized he’d lost almost seventy years to the ice.

But Steve was angry. He was angry and tired of people he cared about getting hurt. Bucky was safe with SHIELD and Coulson’s team, and could take care of himself. Steve was ready to fight back, and they had to find a place to start – and they had to figure out what the best course of action was.

After Erskine’s death, years ago, Phillips had announced to Peggy and Howard that they were bringing the fight to HYDRA. To Steve, that seemed the best course of action now.

“We can’t sit around forever,” Steve admitted as he looked back at the others. “One of us is going to make the first move. And I’d like it to be us. We need to take the fight to HYDRA, but at the right time and place.”

“You have a plan, Spangles?” Tony wondered.

Steve sighed as he crossed his arms against his chest. His brow creased, and he didn’t look at the rest of them. “Someone has to make the first move. If you can find a base for us to start with… we make it clear that we’re ready for a fight.”

“Best defense is a good offense,” Clint noted. Natasha didn’t reply, but if she didn’t put up a protest, she at least thought the idea had merit. And Steve had no doubt she would come to him if she had any misgivings later on.

“Aye aye, Captain," Sharon replied. “I’ll find a good base. But I’m going to highly recommend that we wait until Thor is here with us. And I think that the Hulk needs to be on that attack.”

Steve sighed. “I agree. The six of us all on the same attack sends a message – that the Avengers are assembled again, and we’re not going down without a fight.”

“Bruce isn’t going to like that,” Tony pointed out. “He hasn’t had the Hulk out since New York.”

Steve looked back over at the billionaire. Sharon could see every year of his life on his face in that moment. “I have a feeling that we’re all going to have to do some things we don’t like in this fight,” he admitted. “We better start getting used to it.”

With those ominous words, Sharon only looked back to the product of her hard work.

So many enemies. So little time. So minimal experience as a team.

Sharon only hoped they could live with what the cost of this fight might be – because whatever happened, there would be a cost.

The Avengers, and the people around them, would be the ones to pay it.

* * *

**November 2014 – Avengers Tower, New York**

There was a marked change in the Tower when Morgan Potts-Stark made her way into the world. As her godmother, Sharon was paying very close attention to every bit of that change.

Outside of their nanny, Tony and Pepper allowed visitors for the first time a few weeks after the birth of their baby. Sharon couldn’t blame them; this was their first child, and they had a lot to figure out. And besides, Morgan was only three weeks old. Tony and Pepper deserved to have some time alone with their daughter before they welcomed people over.

Either way, it was the first weekend in November when Sharon sat on a couch in the penthouse, a huge smile on her face and her beautiful new goddaughter in her arms.

“Hey there, Miss Morgan,” Sharon hummed as she readjusted her. Her finger smoothed back tiny strands of dark hair. “It’s nice to meet you, baby girl.”

Morgan gave a little squawk and readjusted, her eyes barely open, her tiny hand clinging to Sharon’s finger. In that moment, Sharon could not have been glad for the implant in her left arm. Holding a newborn baby was dangerous.

“Hey, stop hogging,” Rhodey complained as he sat next to Sharon on the couch, a grin on his own face. “Think it’s my turn.” He looked up before smirking and adding, “And then my wife’s gonna kill us both if she can’t hold the baby.”

Mattie snorted before shaking her head, pressing a kiss to Rhodey’s temple as she passed him and sat across from Sharon on another couch. “Jim, I promise I am okay with waiting. If I can get my baby fix without having to have another, I’ll wait as long as I have to.”

“What, you don’t want one more, sweetheart?”

“If you’re carrying it, honey, I’m more than okay with one more.”

Sharon snorted and passed the baby to Rhodey a moment later. “Don’t let me stand between you two and a baby. Surprised you didn’t bring the kids though.”

Mattie only gave a long-suffering sigh. “Tamara just had the flu, and there’s colds going around their schools. I didn’t want to risk it, and they’ll be able to meet Morgan at Christmas. We dropped them off in Philadelphia with Jim’s mom.”

“Let me say again I’m eternally grateful for that,” Pepper admitted as she sat down next to Mattie. She gave a gentle and soft smile as she looked over at her infant daughter. “I’m not looking forward to the first cold.”

Tony plopped down on the other side of Sharon, his eyes closed the instant he leaned his head back. “I’m looking forward to the first full night of sleep. How long did it take your kids?”

Mattie and Rhodey only exchanged a look. “I don’t think you want the answer,” Rhodey admitted.

Sharon exchanged a smirk with Pepper before looking back down at her goddaughter. “Ah, you’re gonna be an insomniac like your dad.”

“Please stop,” Tony groaned. “Don’t curse me like that. She’s already going to be every bit of karma I picked up over the years.”

“Are you gonna make your dad’s hair go gray, Morgan? Yes, you are, and Auntie Sharon and Uncle Rhodey can’t wait to watch.”

Rhodey only smirked at his best friend. “The karma’s going to be beautiful.”

“Mattie, make them stop, they’re bullying me.”

Mattie only shot her husband a faux baleful look, and Rhodey smirked before standing up and handing his wife the baby. Mattie’s arms were in a natural holding position in a moment. Sharon only watched with a quiet little smile, leaning back and looking back at Tony.

“She’s really beautiful, guys,” Sharon said. “And you know she’s going to be crazy smart.”

“Hopefully with Potts common sense,” Tony muttered. He opened his eyes at last, sighing before saying, “And the Potts ability to actually sleep.”

“Sleepless nights are pretty common for new parents or infants,” Mattie admitted. “Might be something you have to get used to.”

“I’ve got plenty of those already. We’ll talk about it later.” Sharon was still completely relieved that Tony was continuing to see Mattie for therapy. She was seriously considering talking to Mattie herself and see if she’d be willing to talk to the others Avengers.

Mattie only nodded and looked back over at Pepper. “You have plans for Thanksgiving?”

“My sister and her family are coming here. It’s easier for them to travel from New Orleans than it is for us to travel down there with Morgan.” Pepper smiled quietly before adding, “And no Mom.”

“Good,” Sharon said, raising a brow over at her. “You’ve got more important things to worry about.”

“Damned right.” Tony stood up to get a drink from the counter before saying, “You still going to the cabin with Colleen and Mike?”

Sharon nodded in confirmation. “Yeah. Mia invited me down for her Thanksgiving. I know Steve, Clint, and Nat are going down. I think Kate’s tagging along.”

“As long as I don’t have to bail them out of jail, I’m fine with whatever. I think Bruce is going to the cabin for it. So it’ll be pretty quiet around here.” Tony tugged a hand through his hair before looking back at her. “I think things will pick up after that.”

Thor would be back with the Avengers in a few weeks. By mid-December, the six Avengers would be together again. And Sharon knew the Avengers would be on high alert. HYDRA would be on high alert. The war that had been brewing for months would begin, and Sharon wasn’t sure that they were ready yet.

“Tony,” Pepper said, her voice quiet as she looked back at her partner. “Not something you can fix right now, remember?”

“She’s right,” Sharon pointed out when Tony didn’t meet either of their eyes. “Just… enjoy Morgan for now. While you can.”

The billionaire only nodded, and Sharon sighed. She knew that it had been on Tony’s mind since the moment Pepper announced her pregnancy – Morgan was a blessing, that was absolutely true. But she was also a fantastic target for anyone looking to go after Tony. Considering the press coverage for Pepper’s pregnancy and birth, HYDRA was absolutely aware.

Things were changing. Sharon knew that. Tony was going to have new priorities now, and she knew that he would be trying to find out his new normal. They all were – but there was going to be next to no time to adjust to it.

Things would be picking up soon enough – and knowing who they were fighting against, HYDRA might very well have a plan already. Sharon just hoped they would be ready to stop them.

* * *

**November 2014 – Washington, DC**

The first two Thanksgivings Steve spent after the ice were quiet.

That first one was spent at a safe house of Fury’s as he tried to comprehend the world he’d been thrown into. Even six months after the Battle of New York, things had been shaky. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that it was days after that first Thanksgiving that Steve accepted Fury’s help. Ironically, it’d been less than two weeks later that he’d met Sharon as Kate for the first time.

The second Thanksgiving was also spent alone. He’d been in London trying to help with the clean up and aftermath of the Dark Elves and he’s gotten a pub dinner where the Commandos’ old haunt had been. It’d been lonely and quiet and made Steve realize again just how much he’d lost.

This, Steve decided, was by far a better Thanksgiving than either.

If there were little new touches around Sam’s place that obviously hinted to the lingering stay of a certain doctor, Steve didn’t comment on it. Rather, it was nice to see how happy the two both were, Sam’s hand lingering on Mia’s waist as he passed, Mia pressing a kiss to his cheek when he helped to bring the gravy over.

The table wasn’t big enough for everyone there, so they’d all sat around the living room. Clint’s dog Lucky wandered among them all, taking scraps of food from everyone. Steve ruffled the top of his head with a smile before glancing up to pay attention to the conversation around him.

“I’m just saying,” Mia said as she poured herself another generous glass of wine. “There are things I would love to do with a kid. Take them to the park. To a game. Going on a plane ride with three children, including an infant, is not one of them. Especially when there’s a layover.”

Clint snorted. “Why do you think I said no?”

“Same reason I did, Hawkeye.” Mia gently clinked her wine glass against Clint’s beer bottle. “Because we’re smart and aren’t going to try and go to St. Thomas with little kids. Let Laura and Barney have their fun.”

Kate snorted and plopped back down on the couch next to Steve, placing a bottle and shot glass in front of her. “Kids on a beach doesn’t sound fun,” she admitted.

Steve’s eyes narrowed slightly at Kate as she downed a shot of whatever vodka shot monstrosity Natasha had put together. “Aren’t you nineteen?” he wondered.

Fighting back a heavy cough, Kate shot him a glare that reminded him too much of Barton. “Aren’t you like ninety?” she countered.

Steve cracked a smile despite himself. “Touché.” He rolled his eyes at Barton’s smirk and sipped at his own beer.

Natasha smirked proudly as she leaned against Clint’s legs, sitting on the floor and observing as normal. Lucky plopped down on the ground next to her, and whined happily as Natasha scratched the dog behind the ears.

This was normal. These were people Steve considered his friends, and he could not be more grateful for that.

Conversation continued for hours, with stories and jokes and even Cards Against Humanity being broken out. Clint had tried to get Monopoly involved, but everyone else agreed that Monopoly was probably the best way to ruin relationships, and they’d abandoned that idea.

While he helped the hosts clean the dishes, Sam decided it was the best time to ambush him.

“So, how are you doing?” Sam asked. “With… well, everything.”

“Is my friend or the VA therapist asking?” Steve wondered, managing to keep the edge out of his voice.

“The friend, Steve.” Sam shot him a look and spooned mashed potatoes into a glass container. “You’ve been quiet today. And you’ve been distracted.”

Steve sighed, looking out the window at the dark yard. Mia was back in the living room with Clint, video chatting with her sister, his brother, and their shared niece and nephews. Kate was shivering on the porch as she begged Lucky to use the yard so they could go in. He didn’t know where Natasha had gone, but he was pretty sure she’d taken a phone call to talk to someone.

“I guess I’m just…” Steve sighed. “This is the best position I’ve been in for years. I’ve got a team again. I’ve got friends. But I still just feel… lost, I guess. So much is going on and there’s next to nothing I can do.”

“About Barnes and HYDRA?” Sam sighed. “I invited him. He said he didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“I don’t know if he’s avoiding me or avoiding everyone in general. We talk a few times a week, but for now, I’m letting him initiate it. At least for a few months, until he feels more comfortable.” Rebuilding a friendship with a man who’d been his best friend for years was a bitter pill to swallow, but Steve didn’t have another choice.

“And HYDRA… you guys can’t do anything until Thor comes. It’s a smarter idea to wait until you have the full team, we both know that.”

“I know.” Steve sighed as he looked back over. “We both know that I’m not a big fan of waiting though.”

Sam clapped his shoulder. “I’ve noticed.” He looked back to the living room before saying, “I know that it doesn’t help… but learning to live in the moment is always a good idea. Maybe now’s a good time to start, before you go back into a war.”

War was all that Steve had known for years. Peace was more difficult. “I’m trying.”

“I know.” Sam put a few leftovers into the fridge before glancing back at him. “We all are.”

So much had changed in just over six months. Sometimes Steve forgot he wasn’t the only one trying to adjust. That thought only made him feel more guilty in talking to the others about it. Sam was building a new life down here in DC with Mia. He was happy. And Steve couldn’t ask him to help sort through his own problems.

He knew that most people would call holding it all inside toxic. Steve didn’t think there was another option.

Everyone was in bed by midnight. Clint and Nat took the guest bedroom, leaving Kate and him in the living room. Kate, who was definitely tipsy after trying to prove herself with Natasha’s vodka, passed out earlier on in the night. The girl could snore like Dum Dum Dugan, but Steve knew that sleep wouldn’t come even if Kate didn’t snore.

Insomnia was nothing new to Steve. But this was different. This was a house full of people that he cared about – people he considered his friends. People who were building new lives. Everyone seemed to be able to accept this brave new world.

Everyone except him.

Somehow, even with Kate snoring on the other couch, Steve still felt completely alone.

* * *

**December 2014 – Brooklyn, New York**

He hadn’t had a nightmare for a while. At least, not one on this level.

In mid-December, Steve’s blue eyes snapped open, not completely aware. His hand curled into fists, tangled against sheets. He could barely remember the dream that sent him into this state, but it was enough to send his anxiety into overdrive.

Breathe. In. Out. Breathe. In. Out.

His name was Steven Grant Rogers. He was born July 4th, 1918 to Sarah Rogers in Brooklyn, New York. He was in 2014, not 1945, and he was safe.

He was safe. He was not back in the ice. He was not back in the war.

He was safe.

Nightmares were far more common than Steve would ever admit to anyone. It wasn’t exactly unexpected; not with everything he’d been through. Before the HYDRA uprising, Steve spoke with a SHIELD psychologist several times. Doctor Garner had explained that it was more likely than not that he was suffering from at least some form of PTSD.

Steve stopped going to therapy before Doctor Garner could give an official diagnosis.

To be fair, it hadn’t been complete avoidance. Steve was busy with STRIKE, with Natasha, with trying to find a place in an unfamiliar world. He’d been building a life, or so he thought. Rather, he knew in hindsight he’d thrown himself into work to pretend that he was okay. He'd talked to Mattie informally a few times, but she was still based out of LA, and Steve didn't feel completely comfortable with video appointments.

He was still pretending he was okay, on some levels. At the very least, Steve knew that Peggy was right. Sometimes the best thing they could do was start over.

Problem was that Steve had no idea where to start.

The panic attack left quickly enough, and Steve blinked at the dark, high ceiling of his bedroom. He glanced at the red-lighted clock on his bedside table. 5:04 am. His alarm wouldn’t go over for twenty-six more minutes, but he was already awake. There was no point in lying around and waiting for it to go off.

He checked his phone after downing a bagel and orange and saw a few alerts from the night before – Sam texted him an article about VA funding that quoted him. Sharon emailed everyone a reminder that Thor, Jane, and their son would be arriving mid-afternoon and that there’d be a welcome dinner of sorts for them Friday night, to give them time to get used to being there. Tony sent off a warning text in the group chat that he’d be unavailable for the day after both Pepper and Morgan had been violently sick all night.

The Avengers and their associates really were a bunch of insomniacs. At least he was in good company.

New York was cold in the winter, so Steve made sure he was completely bundled up before heading out onto the streets. He took his time, got coffee and an additional breakfast on the way, and was at the Tower by 7 am. He worked out and showered, and was in his office by 8:30 am.

He was nothing if not predictable, but it felt like he was going through the motions more than anything.

Most of the morning was spent reading through intel that Sharon thought was interesting. She had an eye for this stuff, there was no doubt of that. Even with the general plan of finding a base for the Avengers to take down as a message, they were having problems finding a base. Steve hoped that Thor’s arrival would mean that this plan would go into effect sooner rather than later.

He lost track of time after a while. Even as boring as intelligence reports on this tablet could be, Steve was drowning in it, trying to find the best intel he could. If he made the wrong choice, people would die. People on his team might die.

And that was not something he was willing to live with.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Steve blinked, looking sharply to the entrance of his office. Dressed in jeans and a casual white cold-sleeved sweater top, a white winter coat over one arm, Sharon raised a brow at him. Steve’s eyes briefly flickered to the clock on the wall, and he was shocked to realize it was nearly noon now. He’d spent hours reading briefings and hadn’t realized it.

He really was failing at not drowning himself in work. And he also realized he didn’t remember what Sharon had asked.

“I’m sorry?” Steve asked, rubbing his temple. He glanced up as a copper coin landed on his desk, perfectly in front of him.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Sharon repeated as she tossed her winter jacket onto his couch. She sat down in the chair across from him, ankles crossed. “Because you look like you’re deep in them.”

Steve scoffed slightly, looking back over at her. He did take the penny and put it in the top drawer of his desk. “Just… impatient, I guess.” He offered the tablet in his hand, and Sharon took it, her bright brown eyes flickering over it. “We’ve been trying to find a base to strike for months. And we haven’t found one yet.”

“Because we agreed that the six Avengers need to be all together on it,” Sharon pointed out. She put the tablet down on his desk, looking back at him. “Thor will be here today. He’s got a kid now, Steve, and it’s understandable why he’d stay back until he knew that his son and wife were okay.”

“I know.” Steve sighed before saying, “And I know that Tony will be the same.”

Sharon sighed and looked back at him. “We can’t expect people to put their lives on hold while we fight against HYDRA. Not even the other Avengers.”

“I guess not.” Steve looked back at her. “Sorry, it’s… it’s been a bad morning.”

The former SHIELD agent across from him waved her hand. “You don’t have to explain it to me,” she promised. “I understand.” She looked back at him before asking, “I get login notifications though… have you been reading since this morning?”

Steve scoffed. “I don’t think lying to you would work, would it?”

“You can try, but I know you’re a bad liar.”

“So, no point?”

“None at all.” Sharon smiled quietly before looking back at him. “Look, one workaholic to another, I get it. But… we can’t let fighting HYDRA become our lives, Steve.”

“Are you telling me that, or yourself?” The question came out before he could stop it. He and Sharon had been building a friendship, but there were still so many sensitive edges to it, so many topics they skirted around. Their mental health and reactions to HYDRA’s rise were one of them.

To her credit, Sharon only gave a tired smile. “Both.”

Steve hesitated, finally looking back at her and meeting her eyes. “Fighting HYDRA has been my life for a few years now.” And the year or so that he thought he wasn’t fighting HYDRA, he’d been serving HYDRA. It was a bitter pill to swallow. “I’m back to it now. And… it’s the same fight. It’s the same enemy. But… but it’s a world I still don’t understand.”

“Maybe we need to find you a hobby or something.” Steve glanced back up at her, briefly recognizing the reflective look on her face as something strikingly similar to Peggy’s.

The thought was broken a moment later when the woman in front of him spoke. “I think it would do you good to get out of this building for a few hours. Want to come with me?”

Steve raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his office chair. “To do what, exactly?”

“Pick up Thor and Jane from the airport.” Sharon stood up, tugging a hand through her straight blond hair before grabbing her jacket from the couch. “Their flight is arriving in a few hours, and I was planning to grab lunch before.”

Steve raised a brow. “You’re inviting me to lunch too, right?”

“If I have an Avenger with me, I can put the lunch on my business card instead of my personal card. So, yes, Captain America, I am absolutely inviting you to lunch.”

Steve couldn’t help the bark of laughter that slipped out. “Agent 13, are you trying to take advantage of me?” he wondered.

“You know it.” There was something about the devil-may-care smile on her face that brought a similar smirk onto his face without him even realizing. “So, are you going to let me take advantage of you or not?”

Steve watched her briefly, pensive. Before he could talk himself out of it, he stood, reaching out for the thick winter jacket on the hook in the corner.

“If we’re taking advantage of the business card, we need to do somewhere good,” Steve mentioned.

Sharon grinned. “That ridiculously expensive seafood place near the airport?”

“The one that makes that bouquet of crab cakes?”

“That one exactly, Cap.”

The smile only widened, and Steve’s blue eyes sparkled briefly. “Lead the way, 13.”

She grinned back at him, and Steve decided that this might not be the worst way to spend a December day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Sharon talk. The Fosters arrive in New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm not trying to have huge gaps between chapters.
> 
> Chapter lengths are probably going to hover around 4500 to 5000 words - the huge chapters like the first are exhausting. But anyway, here's Chapter 2, the good news is that Chapter 3 is most of the way written, and I have another six-hour flight back home on Saturday!
> 
> Thank you again for those who've stuck around for this series and its ridiculous update speeds, and to those who commented - this is for you guys. Enjoy the start of some slow burn.

**December 2014 – New York City, New York**

A few months back, the team celebrated their first week in New York with dinner at the Seawise Kitchen, a personal favorite of Tony and Pepper’s. Steve hadn’t been back since, but warm crab cakes sounded wonderful on the dreary December day. They had a few hours to kill anyway, and it was nice to get out of the office for a change of scenery.

Sharon signed out a larger SUV from the available Stark cars in the underground parking garage, and easily made her way through New York traffic. Steve didn’t mind driving, but Sharon preferred to drive herself, and she’d gotten them from DC to New York just fine in October.

It occurred to Steve as she parked that they hadn’t talked one on one too much since they’d both come to New York. She’d been running around trying to put out fires and get herself settled. He’d been focused on trying to figure out how he was going to lead this team and getting used to living in New York full time since the 1940s.

A chance to pause, catch his breath, and talk with Sharon was something Steve genuinely wanted – and he was glad they could sneak it in before picking up Thor and Jane.

“I never got to ask, how was Thanksgiving?” Sharon asked when they were in their booth. The waitress seemed to have recognized him and had let them take a booth in the far back, hidden away.

“It was good.” Steve set his own scarf down before saying, “Besides Bishop snoring eight feet away from me, at least.”

Sharon snorted in amusement, reaching for her water glass. “I’ll have to remember that about her if she ends up going on any assignments. Put her with whoever’s the heaviest sleeper.”

The super soldier frowned, pausing as he opened the menu. “She’s nineteen. Are we already thinking about sending her out on missions?”

“Not right now, both Kate and Clint agree she’s not quite ready, but it’s going to happen eventually.” Sharon raised a brow at him. “Clint isn’t training her so she can teach archery at the local YMCA, Steve. He’s training her so that she can take over for him eventually or even join as an Avenger next to him.”

“Kate is nineteen years old.”

“Twenty in February.” Sharon shot him a look as she opened her menu. “We can’t all be your age.”

Steve sighed. “It’s not me being an old man, I promise. I just… saw enough kids in the war. Don’t want to see any more in one that might be worse.”

He could remember kids back on the battlefield, kids who lied about their age to get into the fight and do what they thought was their duty. Junior, one of the rookie Commandos who served as backup for a few missions, had been seventeen on his first join-up with the team, sixteen when he’d signed on with the army. Steve vividly remember holding the hand of a kid the exact same age of Kate, watching as his blood turned grains of sands to tiny rubies on the beaches of Normandy.

Kate might be nineteen, but she was still absolutely a kid. And Steve had seen enough kids die in wars they didn’t start but had to fight.

The blonde sighed as she looked up from the menu. “She handled herself pretty well with our rescue and with the gulag,” she pointed out. “But… I get what you mean. She’s a kid. None of us are going to deny that, Clint least of all of us.”

“If Natasha and Clint think she can handle it, I’ll go with their judgement.” Steve looked back over at Sharon, noticing the waitress making her way over. “It’s just not my first choice.”

Sharon didn’t respond as they gave their orders – an appetizer of calamari to share, and their own separate meals. Steve did in fact go for the crab cake bouquet. Even that would have enough food for him to go off on until dinner.

“What about you and your Thanksgiving?” Steve wondered. The Bishop situation was still something that worried him, but he’d take it up with Clint himself later. “Didn’t you go down to your family’s cabin?”

“Yeah, and we managed to cram eleven people into a four-bedroom cabin. I got lucky and scored the sofa bed in the den, but Jack and Lizzie had to sleep on the floor.” Sharon gave a sad smile, sighing softly. “Thanksgiving was hard enough when Uncle Daniel died, but…”

“I get it,” Steve promised. He felt the normal stab at his heart that came whenever he thought of Peggy. “I miss her too.”

Sharon pointedly didn’t meet his eyes for a few moments. “I keep thinking how she would handle this. How she would try and figure out where to start.” She looked back at him at last before saying, “Because the others are right. This is a waiting game now, and I don’t want to have to react.”

“I know. It’ll be easier with Thor here though, because now we can actually start planning that move. You said you have a few bases locked down?”

“Yeah. One in particular looks promising, Coulson's team is looking at it supposedly…” Sharon paused, giving an exhausted sigh. “We’re falling into it again.”

“Into what?” Steve asked, frowning back at her.

“Only talking about work. I mean, I know we’re both workaholics, but…” Sharon sighed. “Look, you’ve said it before. I’ve heard it. Sometimes the best thing we can do is start over. You’ve told me that Peggy told you to start over, to find your own way. She took me the same thing, to build my own life. But what are we doing?”

He realized immediately what she meant. So many of their conversations had been regarding their jobs, regarding Peggy. They were connections, sure, but Steve realized they were falling back into the old trap of letting their careers and duties be their lives.

“We’re letting our jobs become our lives,” Steve summarized.

Sharon gave a sigh of exhaustion. “Yeah. We are.” She looked back. “I’ve been Agent 13 for years. I think I’m starting to forget how to be Sharon Carter.”

He hadn’t been Steve Rogers since he’d gone into that pod at Project Rebirth. He’d just been Cap for so long that it was almost becoming all he knew. “Maybe that’s something we both need to work on.”

“Maybe.” Sharon sipped at her water before saying, “How about we call each other out on it when we notice it?”

Steve cracked a smile. “Keep each other accountable?”

“Exactly.” She leaned back. “I know that Tony has the same problem. Separating himself and Iron Man, and I know it drives Pepper crazy. I just… this is not going to be easy, Steve. And if the fight is all we have, that’s not enough to live on.”

Steve agreed with her on that. He’d felt adrift for so long, and he realized this was the first time that he didn’t have a purpose per say – finding Bucky had been a purpose, but his best friend had too much going on to be the center of Steve’s life. That wasn’t fair to him, and it wasn’t fair to Steve himself.

_Sometimes, the best we can do is to start over._

Maybe it was time for him to truly start trying.

“Then how about this – no more shop-talk until we get back to the Tower.”

Sharon raised a brow. “You think we can carry on a conversation between the two of us?”

“Well,” Steve mentioned, glancing up as the calamari appetizer arrived. “I enjoy a challenge.”

From what he’d heard of her, Sharon Carter was competitive. The steely determination in her eyes did nothing to disprove it. “Well, in that case… challenge accepted.”

It was surprisingly easy to move on from that. She told a few funny stories from Thanksgiving, about her cousin Dan’s little girls, about Lizzie and Jack’s endless bickering. He’d met a few members of Peggy’s family before, but hearing about the dynamics from a member at the center was entertaining.

Steve realized as the entrees came out that for the first time, hearing about Peggy’s family didn’t bring that dull stab of pain to his chest it used to. He was glad that she had a life, that she had children who had grown up into amazing people, grandkids who loved each other and protected each other as fiercely as Peggy did the same to her loved ones.

Even Steve ended up talking about what he had been up to. How he’d done a few interviews regarding the treatment of veterans, on healthcare, on things that he had opinions about. He’d even talked about the weirdness of the fact that the building he now lived in was once a factory Bucky worked in.

It was the most relaxed he’d been in a long time. He’d forgotten what that felt like.

By the end of the meal, as Steve tugged the zipper of his coat up, he looked back at her. “Thank you,” he said, not sure how to say this, not sure how to explain why he was grateful.

“For lunch?” Sharon laughed. “I’m not paying for lunch, Stark is.”

“For _inviting_ me to lunch,” Steve corrected. He held the door open for her when they walked out. “I… I needed to get out of the Tower and I didn’t realize it. Thank you for that.”

Sharon briefly fiddled with her keys. “I think we both needed a reminder than our jobs aren’t our whole lives,” she admitted. Sharon unlocked the door and got into the driver’s seat. “That’s why I’m worried about Thor, Bruce, and Tony living in the Tower. No separation between their personal and professional lives.”

“Natasha was very firm in telling me to make sure I didn’t live there,” Steve admitted. “I like my new place, don’t get me wrong. But rent? Rent is absolutely insane.”

“Is this where you complain about the price of coffee nowadays?” Sharon wondered as she pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the streets, turning to the direction of the airport.

“I won’t subject you to that.” Steve barked out a laugh as he warned, “Just don’t get me started on the Dodgers moving to California.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

The rest of the drive to the airport was companionable, warm. Sharon complained openly about traffic and the lack of skills of New York drivers. Steve laughed and genuinely enjoyed being out of the Tower, on the road, somewhere different, with Sharon.

Sharon Carter was something special. It would just take a very long time for Steve Rogers to realize it.

They were able to park right on the tarmac, and within twenty minutes of their arrival, a private Stark jet landed smoothly across the runway from them. Ground control made a gesture to confirm they were free to leave the vehicle and approach once the landing was complete. Sharon was the first one out of the car, and Steve followed, if only a bit reluctantly. He still hated the cold, and he was counting down the days until spring came.

As they walked across, Steve couldn’t help but sigh at the light powdering of snow already coming down on them. “Have to say, I’m ready for winter to be over.”

Sharon nodded in understanding. “I think you’ve had more than your share of the cold,” she pointed out. There was a deceptively light tone to her voice, as if she was trying to figure out if she could make jokes about his trauma.

Steve was just relieved to have someone else acknowledge it. “You can say that again.”

“You think about maybe getting away from New York a bit? Even for New Year’s? The weather in California is much better, and Tony’s new house is gorgeous.”

“That might be an idea.” Mattie had said to reach out more to people when he needed support. And considering that Tony had sent a private jet to get Thor and Jane without hesitation, he knew that he would be more than willing to potentially let Steve stay at the house in California.

“I have good ones on occasion.” The former SHIELD agent only looked back at him and winked. Steve smirked back, and told himself that the slight heat he felt on his cheeks was from the cold of the winter air.

Steve did, however, pull out his phone and send a quick text to Tony asking if heading to California for New Year’s would be possible. Getting out of the cold could do nothing but help. Briefly, he realized he might be willing to see Mattie while he was out there. Even if Tony couldn’t lend the jet or his place out there, Steve knew that commercial flights and a hotel were an option.

He was starting over. He had to. The rest of the world was moving on, and it was time for Steve to do the same.

The steps leading off the jet lowered before they were halfway across the tarmac. The first one down was a blond man, hair in a ponytail, in a surprisingly light coat – and he was the one that the Avengers had been waiting for to truly start their war.

If he hadn’t seen him in civilian clothes a handful of times since the Battle of New York, Steve might not have recognized him. As larger than life as his personality was, Thor looked like every other normal man as he stepped down off the plane – especially with the surprisingly big baby on his hip. An umbrella was held tightly in Thor’s other hand, but his focus was clearly on his little boy.

Compared to his father, little Erik Foster was dressed far more appropriately for the cold. He also seemed to be ignoring the snow in favor of trying to tug his grey knitted cap off his head. Even as Steve and Sharon closed the distance between, the little boy managed to pull it half off his head.

“No, no, it’s too cold for you to be without it,” Steve heard Thor scold gently, tugging it back over and readjusting his son on his hip. “Don’t make your mother worry about you getting sick, she’s already worrying enough.”

A few workers were helping to get Thor and Jane’s luggage from the back compartments and into a U-Haul that Tony rented and sent directly to the airport. Just before they reached Thor and his son, the Asgardian looked up behind him. A crewmember was bringing down something long and narrow, bundled tightly up.

“That goes with us,” Thor called, his voice alert and commanding. “In the far back of what is taking us to the Tower. Make sure no one touches it other than me.” His eyes watched the crewmember the entire time, watching as the object was put in the back of the borrowed SUV.

Steve would have bet money that was the Berserker staff. He had no desire to test what Thor had told them about the Asgardian weapon. If Thor said that it needed to be kept under constant supervision, Steve would make sure Tony hired a twenty-four-hour guard for it. They had enough problems with Chitauri technology still on the black market, let alone an Asgardian weapon.

Thor seemed to notice their approach in that moment, smiling warmly and briefly placing the umbrella on the ground. It stood on its end, completely balanced, and Steve shook his head fondly as he remembered Thor’s umbrella from the compound and what, exactly, it had to be.

“Captain,” Thor greeted with a warm smile, offering a free hand and shaking Steve’s firmly.

Steve took it and gave a firm shake. “Thank you for coming,” he mentioned. “I know that this is a lot, especially with a baby.”

“These are desperate times. I understand completely.” Thor turned his attention to Sharon, the warm smile still on his face. “I know we’ve met before. Sharon, yes?”

“That’s me. It wasn’t a meeting, but you saw me when you visited Steve in DC in February, and then we met officially at the SHIELD compound a few months back,” Sharon confirmed.

“Yes, his guard back in DC. A worthy duty to be sure.” Thor raised a brow at Steve, who only gave a long-suffering sigh. He was already tired of Natasha’s sly remarks about his once crush on Sharon as Kate. Thor was going to get into it now, he was sure. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise.” To Steve’s surprise, a downright gentle expression came over her face as she took a step forward. She did have nieces though, so maybe the fact that Sharon would have a soft spot for kids wasn’t too surprising. “I think I know who this is.”

He grinned and looked down at the bright-eyed baby, who was studying Steve and Sharon intently, looking between them. “My son Erik.”

Most of the experience he had with children from his SSO days, and most of those kids were a good chunk older than Erik. The little half-Asgardian was bright and alert, and didn’t shy away from Sharon or Steve. Instead, a little gummy smile broke out, and Steve caught the resemblance between Erik and Thor instantly.

“Nice to meet you, bud,” Sharon said, her voice surprisingly gentle, a little smile on her face as she looked at him. “He’s adorable.”

“Looks unfairly like his dad though.” Doctor Jane Foster was crossing the tarmac over, a hat tugged over her hair and a thick scarf around her neck. She was carrying a large pet carrier with both hands. Steve distinctly heard a very angry hiss come from it. “Even though, you know, I carried him around the entire pregnancy.”

“He’ll have your mind, love,” Thor reassured her, frowning when he saw Jane carrying him. “Here, you take Erik, I’ll take Nanna. She weights more than him, I’m sure.”

“I’ve got no doubt.” Jane gave a fond eye roll and looked to their welcome committee. Surprise crossed her face as she registered Sharon – enough surprise that the astrophysicist nearly dropped the carrier, drawing another very angry yowl from whatever was inside.

“Agent 13?” she quested, sounding truly dumbfounded.

Sharon gave a sheepish smile. “Sharon, please. It’s good to see you again, Doctor Foster.”

Thor frowned, his free hand at Jane’s back as he asked, “You two know each other?”

“She was the one guarding me during the Battle of New York, at the observatory.” Jane reached out and took her son from his father, balancing him easily on her hip before tugging his knit hat around his ears. “And Sharon, please – Jane.”

Steve had known about Sharon’s assignment during that mess, but Thor clearly hadn’t. “It seems I owe you my gratitude,” Thor mentioned, a clear new respect for Sharon solidifying. He took the pet carrier, and a slightly less annoyed meow came out from the carrier.

Sharon waved her hand. “I was just doing my job. And you guys did a lot more during that time.” She raised a brow as she gestured at the carrier. “All the paperwork for your cat is clear. She’s good to go straight to the Tower. I’m sorry for whatever hell she’ll put you through tonight.”

“She’ll make Thor suffer it, so we’re good,” Jane chuckled.

The snow was starting to pick up more. Steve grit his teeth as a brief shiver cross over his body, along with the slightest edge of panic. “How about we start back?” he asked, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible. “Get out of the snow.”

“Good idea. Here, let me help-“ Sharon reached for the umbrella, her hand wrapping around the handle. She stumbled when she tried to pull it, her eyes narrowing for a moment. The umbrella did not move. Steve couldn’t help the slight chuckle as he saw the moment Sharon realized what that umbrella was.

“It’s not,” Sharon said, her voice deadpan.

“That it is,” Thor replied cheerfully, picking it up easily. “I’m sorry, Sharon.”

“I’ve done it before with it when it’s in umbrella mode,” Jane reassured her as she carried Erik to the SUV. A crewmember was putting the car seat in for the baby. “Thor still laughs at me.”

Sharon laughed and moved to the passenger’s seat. “As long as no one tells Tony, we’re fine.”

“Keeping secrets already?” Steve wondered, raising a brow as he looked back at her. She paused and looked at him, and he winked. “Can take the spy out of SHIELD…”

“Well, I wouldn’t have been hired otherwise.”

Maybe, just maybe, going out to lunch that day was the best choice Steve had made in a very long while.

* * *

**December 2014 – Avengers Tower, New York**

While Sharon took Jane and Erik up to their new apartment, Steve joined Thor in depositing the Berserker staff in the weapons lock up.

For the most part, the weapons lock up was exactly what it sounded like. Steve did keep the shield in the Tower, a part of the separating Captain America and Steve Rogers track that Mattie kept talking to him about, one that Sharon had pointed out today he wasn’t following very well. Besides, as good as his apartment building was, he would never want to risk anyone breaking in and taking it.

Tony’s suits mostly stayed in his lab, but a majority of Clint’s bows and arrows were stored in this room, along with Natasha’s own supplies and all of their combat uniforms. Steve had no doubt that Mjolnir would be staying with Thor at all times.

The Asgardian was very careful not to directly touch the staff. Steve read the reports of it after Thor had arrived back on Earth following Erik’s birth. Just touching it would give the holder enhanced strength, enhanced speed, enhanced durability, at the cost of pulling every bit of rage the holder buried.

Needless to say, it’d been a unanimous agreement among the Avengers that the Berserker staff was to be locked up as tightly as possible.

Thor frowned as he studied the runes on the staff. “I wish Sora had taken it with her,” he admitted. His hand paused on the glass; his gaze narrowed on it as he gave an exhausted sigh. “She is more than a capable fighter, but I worry for her.”

Steve sighed. “I assume she said no to joining the Avengers?”

No one had been optimistic that Sora Larsen would walk off that plane with Thor to join the Avengers. Thor had warned them all that it was highly unlikely a few weeks ago when he’d agreed to bring it up to her, and as such, none of them had planned for a seventh member of their team. That didn’t mean that Steve and Hill hadn’t hoped that they would be wrong.

The six of them were a team, but the six of them alone were not going to be enough to stop HYDRA for good.

“Firmly and emphatically, and I know better than to push her.” Thor looked back at his comrade-in-arms. “Sora has demons to chase down before she considers taking on more. But she’s already in danger from HYDRA. Doctor Reinhardt, Whitehall, what he calls himself these days… he’s a very present threat to her life.”

From what Steve read about Whitehall, he couldn’t blame her for being scared. “Is he why she’s running?”

“She didn’t admit as much, but I know her well enough.” Thor turned from the staff, and Steve walked with him back to the entrance of the weapons room. “She’d be the first to say that her first instinct is to run when she is in danger.”

“A moving target is harder to hit,” Steve pointed out. Sora’s logic was easy to follow in that regard.

“But it is still a target.” Thor tugged a hand through his hair, looking back at the staff one last time. “I hope someday she finds peace enough that she might consider joining us. For now, I must trust she’s able to take care of herself.”

Steve nodded, glancing back at the staff once before looking at the rest of the weapons lock-up. “Then for now, the six of us are what we’ve got.”

“We are enough for now.” Thor’s simple confidence was refreshing in a lot of ways. He looked back at him before asking, “And you… how are you doing with all of this? I know you have spent much of your life fighting HYDRA.”

Thor had literally spent hours on US soil and was already checking on everyone else. It was almost alien for Steve to think about. But it was a relief for someone to check on how he was doing as well when Steve was usually the one watching everyone else.

“It’s been a long few months,” Steve admitted. If he couldn’t open up to his teammates once in a while, he couldn’t expect them to trust him as a leader. “I… Buck’s safe. The people I care about are safe. We have a team with a chance of stopping HYDRA from doing more damage, we have a chance of fighting back. But…”

Thor sighed as the two walked towards the elevator. “We all have far more to lose.”

“Yeah. Exactly.” Thor and Tony, perhaps, had more to lose than any of them.

Not one in Avengers Tower was stupid – Morgan Potts-Stark and Erik Foster would be targets to anyone who might want to go after their parents. There was no better way to threaten a parent than to target their child.

“Steve.”

From the tone in his teammate’s voice, it was time for the conversation Steve knew was coming. It was the same talk he’d had with Tony when Steve first arrived at the Tower, about the simple fact that Tony did have so much more to lose – and every single person on Earth knew it.

Thor and Tony were now in the same unique position – and as team leader, Steve wasn’t just responsible for protecting his teammates. He was responsible for helping to protect those they cared about.

Thor’s face was deadly serious as Steve turned to meet his gaze. “I came here because I trust you and the others, because I know you would not ask me to come unless I was needed. But I need to be sure that there are safeguards. I have my wife and son to protect. HYDRA has already threatened my loved ones, and I need to be sure there are plans in place to protect them while I fight.”

Luckily for all of them, Tony’s relentless pursuit of making sure those safeguards were in place meant Thor’s answer was easily deliverable.

“Maria’s trying to track down enough loyal SHIELD agents that we could put bodyguards on people who don’t live here in the Tower. But HYDRA also lost a lot of their power when Project Insight failed. If someone isn’t a direct target, they can’t afford to do much,” Steve explained. Sharon had gone through this intel a dozen times, and he trusted her judgement. “If HYDRA targets anyone, we react and we react quickly – and make it clear we’re not gonna take it.”

Thor seemed satisfied, nodding quietly. “I can accept that,” he said. “And for those in the Tower?”

“They’ve got an elevator capable of filling with knock-out gas, secure walls, several hidden panic rooms, the six of us, and other staff members to worry about.” Steve gestured at the elevator as he lead the way over to it. “Tony’s in the penthouse. Security on the Avenger floors was his first priority.”

The Asgardian followed him into the elevator. “Thank you,” he said simply. “Jane was already put into danger while pregnant. And it’ll be even harder to protect him as he grows, at least until he’s capable of protecting himself.”

“We know. Tony understands. That’s why security has been his biggest project.” Steve just hoped he wasn’t giving Thor false reassurances. “We all have a lot to lose,” the super soldier admitted.

“That we do.” Thor patted his arm as the elevator stopped on the floor of his and Jane’s apartment. Sharon was waiting on the other side, a brow rising in surprise when she saw them on the other side. “Is everyone settled?”

Sharon chuckled. “Erik’s whining and doesn’t want to go down for a nap, and Nanna ran around the apartment a few times. She’s now hiding under the bed and refusing to come out.”

The expression that crossed Thor’s face was heartwarming. “Some things never change.” He patted Steve’s shoulder again before squeezing Sharon’s arm as he passed. “I shall see you both at dinner tomorrow night?”

“Email me what you and Jane want in terms of groceries,” Sharon called as she took his place in the elevator. “I know how much Steve eats, and I dread to think about your grocery list.”

Thor gave a hearty laugh. “You’ll have our orders within the hour.” He disappeared through the door of his apartment. As the elevator doors closed, Steve could hear a slight whine of a baby, Thor’s deep chuckle, and Jane’s fond exasperation. And, of course, the annoyed hiss of a cat.

Sharon reached to press the button for the main common area, but paused as she saw it was already lit. She raised a brow as she looked back at Steve.

Steve leaned against the wall, raising a brow. “Workaholics, remember?” he asked.

She laughed. “Workaholics, indeed,” she replied as she glanced at the elevator. The floor numbered flickered down until it got to the main Avengers floors.

When the doors opened, she moved to them, pausing and looking back at him, a sigh on her lips.

“We’ve got our team, Steve,” Sharon pointed out quietly. Her eyes flickered to the common area. Clint and Kate were playing darts. Natasha was observing and drinking sparkling water, Morgan in her arms. Tony stood close by, as protective of his daughter as anyone could expect.

This is what they were fighting for. And Steve knew they were ready for it.

“Let’s find us a target,” Steve finished.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers train. HYDRA plots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. The world has kind of gone insane since I last posted, but at least I posted in the same month?
> 
> My area isn't in strict quarantine yet, but good news is that my family is heavily following social distancing and I've been relocated to work at home, which means I have plenty of time to write in the meantime. 
> 
> As a personal note, please everyone make sure to stay safe - wash your hands, take a breath, and make sure to take care of your mental as much as your physical health. And I hope that this is a good distraction.

**January 2015 – San Bernardino County, California**

A few days after Steve reached out to Tony about going to California, the billionaire decided to go the extra mile and invite everyone to a New Year’s Eve bash at his newly reconstructed Malibu mansion.

He justified it as a chance for the team to bond a bit. The six of them hadn’t been back together that much since their brief meeting at Coulson’s SHIELD, and considering how high team bonding was on the list of goals, a team retreat made sense to Steve. And if it got him away from the snow and cold for a bit, he’d jump at the chance.

And so, the day after Christmas, the Avengers flew cross-country – and Tony surprised them what seemed to be their collective Christmas present.

“A quarry,” Sharon said, staring down at her StarkPad. “A quarry.”

“Yep!” Tony looked too pleased with himself as he crossed the jet, Morgan bundled against his chest and whining every time he paused for longer than a second.

“You bought a quarry,” Sharon repeated, trying to ignore the outright exasperation that a man could be so rich in dollars but poor in sense to just jump at buying a quarry.

“I bought a quarry,” Tony confirmed, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, Shar, I know you’re smart, you heard me the first time.”

“How are you justifying this to your accountants?” Bruce wondered, always the voice of reason.

Tony frowned as he kept going, readjusting his daughter easily. “You think I justify anything to them?”

“Believe me, this is actually low on the list of bizarre things he’d bought,” Pepper admitted, a fond exhaustion in her voice. “Not even in the top ten.”

Sharon rolled her eyes and exchanged a look with Steve, who could only shrug. The original six Avengers were all coming to California, along with Sharon, Jane, Pepper, and the babies. Others had been invited on the trip, but various excuses kept them from California. Kate was being guilted onto a cruise with her father and stepmother, much to her horror. Mia and Sam were going to spend New Year’s Eve with his family in in the south after spending Christmas in Seattle with her father's family.

“Why a quarry though?” Clint asked, raising a brow across at Tony. “I mean, I know I said we should get somewhere we train without worrying about collateral training, but…”

“You just said why. We need a place that’s away from everything. Cap thinks it’s a good idea,” Tony said, gesturing at Steve. The billionaire continued to cross the plane, struggling to calm his upset daughter. “He agrees it’s a good idea.”

Steve knew that Tony would have brought his tentative approval into it sooner rather than later. And thus, he’d long expected the judgmental looks shot his way by Sharon and Natasha.

The super soldier raised his hands in defense before protesting, “I said I think the idea had merit. Not for you to immediately run off and buy the quarry.”

“Too bad, I did it anyway. It was cheap!”

“You and I have very different definitions of cheap, Tony.”

“A cup of coffee was like two bucks in your day, of course we do.”

“What are you going to do with the quarry after this?” Natasha demanded.

“Um, keep it and let Bruce run wild in it whenever he wants, duh. Maybe rent it out for raves too, it could be a pretty sick place for one.”

Bruce’s sigh could be heard throughout the plane, along with his eye roll. “I’ve given up. Though I do think trying to coax the Big Guy into cooperating with missions might be the best way to get him okay with it.”

“Exactly! We need somewhere to iron out a few combat ideas,” Tony pointed out as he handed Morgan over to Pepper, the CEO taking a turn to lap the plane a few times. “I don’t want to try a new move out while we’re on a mission. That’s asking for trouble.”

“The idea has merit,” Thor admitted. Erik was happily chewing on something, sitting on his lap. Jane raised a brow at her husband. She’d never been around all the Avengers before, and she was still observing the dynamics like the scientist she was. “We worked together fine in New York.”

“I’m pretty sure we won New York by dumb luck,” Bruce pointed out bluntly.

“We can be better,” Thor conceded, glancing back down at his son. “We all have reasons to be better now.”

Natasha hummed and sipped at her water. “Point made. Add field trip to the quarry onto the itinerary, I guess.”

Sharon glanced at Tony and shrugged. “Might want to look for one out in New York too,” she suggested.

“Already looking,” Tony promised. “Don’t want to have to fly across the country for a training session, after all.”

They all agreed to wait to train until after New Year’s Eve. Sharon had to admit that it was a good party. There was a tense sort of energy to it, but it was understandable – it’d been a hell of a year for everyone. The AIM incident was two years ago. Thor had been back on Earth for over a year, and he and Jane were past their first wedding anniversary. The one-year mark of HYDRA’s uprising was less than four months away.

2014 had frankly sucked for most of them. Everyone was ready for a fresh start with 2015. And so, in the first days of January and one day before everyone returned to New York, they went to Tony’s damned quarry.

The quarry was in the middle of nowhere California, a few hours’ drive from Stark’s new Malibu beach house. Sharon was relieved that Tony was smart enough to make sure that it was far away from any civilians and any potential surveillance. She was also relieved that they had decided to take several vans.

Sharon and Rhodey were the only two outside of the original six to join the expedition of sorts. Rhodey claimed that he was there to make sure that Tony didn’t do anything too stupid, and Sharon’s job was to make sure that everything was documented properly.

“So, why do we have to be in uniform for this?” Clint wondered as he tightened his armguard.

“Because you need to get used to being in that combat uniform,” Sharon explained.

“I think some of us are more used to it than others,” the archer grumbled, sighing as he glanced down at it. Tony had gone to work at designing a better version of Clint’s old SHIELD uniform. He’d done the same for all three former SHIELD-affiliates.

“You sure you’re not just annoyed that you have sleeves?” Natasha teased her partner, smirking back at him.

“If anyone’s complaining about that part, I think it’d be you.” Clint shook his head. “I can do my job in jeans. Don’t know if a fancy uniform is necessary for me.”

“If we plan well enough, you’ll need something that can protect you in a fight,” Steve pointed out. “Speaking from experience, you take out the sniper, you take out the eyes of a team.”

Clint scowled but didn’t reply, instead testing his bow. They all had some things to get used to. Clint would apparently have to get used to having sleeves on his uniform. Natasha tugged a hand through her hair before zipping her own uniform as far up as it could, right to her collarbone.

“There’s more armor in this than I used to have,” she noted. Sharon knew Natasha well enough to recognize the appreciation. “I like it.”

“You’re gonna be fighting HYDRA soldiers, of course you’re gonna be in good armor,” Tony pointed out. He was already mostly in the suit, though his mask was up for the moment. “Plus, you tend to run right up to people and punch them. Someone might get a lucky shot off at you.”

Thor, of course, had simply hit his umbrella against the ground and the cape and armor came out of nowhere. It was a spectacle to be sure, and Sharon glanced up when she saw it clouding overheard.

“Watch the weather, Thor,” she called. “Don’t want to draw more attention to us being here than we already are.” Three large vans driving in a row from Malibu to the middle of San Bernardino county was likely to draw some attention anyway, but Sharon wanted to avoid what they could. To her relief, the clouds dissipated quickly.

“This group, draw attention? Sharon, they would never,” Rhodey deadpanned.

“Oh, of course. How could I accuse them of that?” Sharon wondered as she played with a few settings of the video camera she had.

“I’m sure they’ll find a way to forgive you. They’re nice like that.”

“If everyone’s done with the sarcasm, let’s get started,” Steve interjected. It was the first time he was in his new Cap uniform other than fittings, and it was a good combination of both his SHIELD uniform and the old uniform back in the war. Sharon had to admit that the shallow side of her was sad for the lack of spandex.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one. “Cap, I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed that the costume has no spandex,” Clint mentioned, trying to look as innocent as possible.

“I’m sure you are, Barton.” Steve did crack a smile though. He gestured over at Thor before saying, “I wanted to try one thing out in particular. Tony, you both remember in Germany, when Thor hit the shield?”

“You mean the shockwave that leveled half the forest and traumatized dozens of little woodland creatures?”

“Was there another I missed?” Thor wondered. His tone was sincere enough that it took Sharon a second to realize he was absolutely more than ready to join in on giving Steve shit.

Steve looked to the sky briefly, and took a second to hide the smirk. “Yes, that one.” He readjusted his grip on his shield before saying, “I want to see if we can use that. It’s a pretty powerful attack.”

Thor looked positively giddy. “I’m more than willing to try this.”

“Is no one a little worried about this?” Rhodey wondered out loud.

“How big was the shockwave?” Bruce asked. He’d stuck to the back for most of the group interactions so far. Tony had made it clear that no one was to push him, and Sharon was just glad they’d convinced him to come out here and potentially bring the Hulk out in a controlled setting.

“Pretty big,” Tony admitted, frowning as he realized what Bruce was getting at. “You think it could bring the Big Guy out?”

“It might,” Bruce admitted, sighing as he said. “I’ll try and let him know that this is okay, but everyone might want to give me some space.”

“I think giving space to the guys making the sonic boom is a good idea too,” Rhodey deadpanned.

“Agreed,” Sharon said. She knelt down on the ground, opening up a black case and letting a drone fly up, playing with her phone to make sure it was recording. She turned on her own video camera, biting her lip as she moved back. “Whenever you guys are ready, I guess.”

Honestly, she wasn’t sure what to expect when they tried this. No one knew what to expect with this quarry day excursion of sorts, but it needed to be done, because they all needed to learn how to work with each other.

Everyone gave Bruce plenty of space, just in case the blast did trigger the Hulk. Tony went high in the air. Natasha and Clint headed towards one side of the quarry, Rhodey and Sharon to the other. Steve and Thor faced each other in the middle, Steve tugging his helmet on before raising the shield. His feet moved slightly, grounding himself as he squared his shoulders.

Steve started the countdown. “Three, two, one…”

Thor moved, Mjolnir hit the shield, and the shockwave slammed into existence – knocking each and every one of them back.

Sharon was knocked straight off her feet and onto her back. For a moment, her ears rang and she struggled to figure out what the hell had happened. Oh, yeah. She was doing her job and watching the Avengers train and try out different moves. This was her life now. And she had to get back on her feet and figure out if this had worked or if Thor and Steve had possibly accidentally killed someone.

Sharon opened her eyes, staring forward as she looked to her hands. She’d managed to hold onto her camera, and she caught sight of the drone circling. She’d gotten the recording at least. Her ears were ringing, and it took her a moment to realize that it had worked.

“Holy shit,” she whispered.

Across the quarry from her, Clint was having a far worse time than she was. The archer was on his knees, his hands pressed against his ears. “Shit!” Clint’s hands scrambled to his hearing aids, and he tore them out, tossing both to the ground. “ _Fuck_!”

Natasha was at his side in a moment, though Sharon noticed that she stumbled. “They’re out?” Natasha’s voice even sounded a bit far away.

“Yeah. Don’t know if they’re broken or not.” Clint groaned and sat back, looking dazed. “Holy shit.”

Tony had been knocked clean out of the air, landing back towards the wall of the quarry. She could see him moving though, and Sharon caught a glimpse of Thor and Steve through the smoke. Everyone was alive. They hadn’t accidentally killed someone in the first training session. She would never have lived that down – but this, this had worked.

Sharon, at heart, was an analyst. And as she observed the scene around her, she could only think. That blast had been powerful enough to knock each and every one of them to the ground. There were rocks that’d fallen from the walls. The blast was a high enough frequency that it affected Clint’s high-tech hearing aids. This was fascinating stuff – stuff that Sharon realized they needed to keep quiet.

“Damn,” Rhodey muttered, moving to his own feet slowly before reaching out to offer a hand to Sharon. “That was… that was something else.”

Sharon took the offered hand with a quiet thank-you, her eyes immediately moving to the dust brewing. She held her breath as it cleared, sighing in relief when she caught a better glimpse of both Thor and Steve. They were both standing at least.

“You both okay?” Tony called, pulling off the front of his helmet as he moved back to his feet. There was a tiny bit of blood gathering under a nostril.

Steve shook his head briefly, a hand going to his ear as the other held the shield. “We’re good,” he promised, looking back towards Bruce. “Bruce?”

The scientist was breathing heavily and bent over, but wasn’t turning green just yet. “I’m good,” he said, sounding surprised. “I think he listened when I said to be ready for a big boom.” He took another deep breath before saying, “Just give me a few more minutes before I have to bring him out though.”

“As long as you need,” Steve assured him. He tugged his helmet off before looking back at Thor. “That… that was impressive.”

“That didn’t happen in Germany,” Tony pointed out. He gestured. There were rocks scattered everywhere, and one section of a wall had collapsed, but for the most part, the damage had been limited – almost controlled. “And other than Clint’s hearing aids getting a jolt, we’re all mostly fine.”

“We didn’t try to control the blast in Germany.” Thor looked excited, but the realization was crossing his face. “You said the shield is made of what – vibranium?” At Steve’s nod of confirmation, Thor continued, “It’s strong enough to take a hit from a weapon forged in the heart of a dying star. We knew that this reaction could happen from Germany, but now we know we can use it.”

Tony’s face brightened briefly. “When you hit me with lightning back in that forest, it supercharged my armor. 400% or something like that.”

Sharon knew that the brainstorming session was not something they wanted to completely record. The video of the training would be enough. “Combo moves kind of sound like a video game, but it’s something we could potentially use.”

“Video games can be useful,” Natasha noted.

“Just saying, we need to ban MarioKart to stop any potential team breakups,” Clint mentioned before glancing back at the redhead next to him. “Or, you know, relationship breakups.”

“Monopoly too,” Bruce suggested, his voice steady. He was a bit pale, but none worse for wear. “That’s just a bad idea.”

“As the parent of preteens, trust me, you’re gonna want to ban both,” Rhodey warned, gesturing at Thor and Tony. “Especially if you two eventually have more kids. Nothing pisses the kids off like when they think one of the others is cheating in Monopoly.”

“Keisha absolutely cheats at Monopoly,” Tony protested.

“Tony, stop accusing my daughter of cheating in a board game.”

“Never, because she’s a ruthless future businesswoman and she cheats at Monopoly.”

“Alright, boys,” Natasha interrupted, moving over towards Tony before saying, “So, if I drop from midair, do you think you could catch me?”

There was a sigh from Clint’s direction, but Tony seemed interested in the idea. They were already figuring the logistics out of it, including Thor volunteering to literally drop her from the air. Clint was throwing in his own two-cents here and there, and Sharon couldn’t help but smirk slightly.

The Avengers were all absolute nuts. That much was obvious.

As the logistics of Operation Throw Natasha In the Air continued, Steve disconnected from the group and came over to Sharon. “Make sure that footage is well protected,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t want HYDRA to have an idea of what we can do until we do it to them.”

“It’ll be going behind a number of very strong firewalls,” she promised. “They’re not gonna see it.”

“Good.” The super soldier sighed and looked back up at the group. “We’ve got a long way to go,” Steve admitted.

“A very wise woman once told me that the best to start is at the beginning,” Sharon mused, frowning as she glanced up at the drone recording everything. She readjusted a setting, moving it to watch Tony catch Natasha in mid-air. “So… we can consider this a good start.”

“Better than a bad one,” Steve admitted, sighing. “We’re not ready.”

The admission was quiet, but it was one that was haunting Steve’s thoughts for days, ever since Thor had brought himself and his family back into the line of fire. The press had caught wind of Thor being back when he’d taken Erik for a walk around the block. The public being aware meant that HYDRA was absolutely aware.

The waiting game had started – and it had a strict deadline that they wouldn’t know until the clock ran down.

“No,” Sharon admitted, looking back at him. “But… but we’re going to try to be. Have a bit of faith, Captain.”

“This isn’t about faith,” Steve pointed out. “This is about the fact that if we wait too long, HYDRA makes a move. And we all agree us making that first move is more important.”

“I know.” Sharon sighed as she looked back over at him. “I’ll double time on finding a base. And in the meantime, you guys do what you can. Because we need you all ready.”

Steve nodded, watched the group, and prayed that the first mission he led this team on would not be their last.

* * *

**January 2015 – Gehenna Base, New Zealand**

As the only daughter of the current head of HYDRA, Andrea von Strucker was raised to hold no illusions to her skills – she was one of the sharpest minds of her generation, on a level of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. And she was one of HYDRA’s secret weapons because of it.

But even this was a challenge to her.

HYDRA had been on edge for months. Any member of the younger generation could have told their elders that Project Insight would fall apart with Captain America in the same zip code, but no one listened. And now Alexander Pierce was dead and HYDRA was out of the shadows.

Personally, Andrea thought they should have burned Rogers’ building down while they had the chance. It was so easy to fake a fiery act of God. And it would have taken Carter out of the equation.

Hindsight was 20/20 in the end. And the only choice they had now was to move forward.

However, Andrea knew her current patient. And she knew that the last thing Brock Rumlow was capable of was moving forward. From basically anything. The man knew how to hold a grudge. He would absolutely hold a grudge to the people who had helped to bury him under a building.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do if this works?” Andrea wondered as she replaced fluid in an IV. She didn’t look back at her observer, and instead focused on the comatose man on the bed.

“Have any higher ups in HYDRA thought about this war?”

“I’m not asking my parents, or List, or Gideon Malick. I’m asking what you plan to do.”

Sitting on a stool too close to Andrea’s work station for her comfort, Thea Schmidt scoffed and stood up. She crossed against her chest. “I think you should be focusing on your father and brother,” she replied, her voice as sulky as a teenager’s.

The blonde scientist couldn’t help but crack a smile. “They’ll do what they want.”

“And we’ll clean up the mess they make?”

Andrea tapped a nail against a new needle before injecting the next scheduled injection of healing serum into Rumlow’s arm. “As per usual.”

The redhead ground her teeth and started to pace. Andrea remained in place, focused on her job. Where Thea had always been kinetic, Andrea had been static. Where Thea was fire, Andrea was ice. And there was no difference now as Thea tried to figure out the best way to claw as much power as she could out of HYDRA’s stalemate with the Avengers and Andrea tried her best to keep the power she was slowly regaining.

“What do you plan to do if this works, if I’m able to restore Rumlow to his prior strength?” More likely than not, he’d be even stronger, but she would not say that to the last Schmidt. Andrea was not in the market of giving promises she had no guarantees of delivering though, especially when it came to science.

“Use him, of course.” Thea shrugged lightly, as if she didn’t have ulterior motives going the extra miles to get what Andrea needed to create this healing serum of sorts. “He’s got connections to three of the six Avengers and a number of their support staff. He’ll be useful.”

“Can you control him?” Andrea asked bluntly. “Or at least handle him?”

Her dark eyes narrowed. “Does that matter?”

“An asset is always useful.” Andrea tapped another needle and slipped a new IV into Rumlow’s exposed arm. “An uncontrollable asset is asking for shit to blow up in your face and get you right back into the Council’s shit list.”

“I’m not on it right now?”

Andrea shot her a glare. “I’m saying this because I consider you my friend.” Or at least, as much as the two women could be friends in HYDRA. “My father is going to put all responsibility for him in your hands. Are you ready for that?”

Thea’s nostrils flared in irritation. “I broke him out of that military hospital. I helped to get Rogers’ blood to develop what you claim will heal him-“

“ _Might_ heal him.” Andrea moved to her feet and tugged off her lab coat. “Don’t put words in my mouth, Thea, you’ll just disappoint us both.”

“I’m more than ready to assume responsibility for him when he recovers.” She shot her another glare and scoffed before saying, “And I’m ready to deal with whatever consequences your father wants to throw at me for any of my actions. He can do what he wants.”

“Is that why you sent Aiden to your mother?” Andrea asked as she tossed her lab coat onto the table.

Thea stopped in her tracks, and did not turn around. Thea Schmidt was cruel, vindictive, spiteful, and more than a little bit selfish. She was very much her grandfather’s granddaughter. But she did genuinely love her son, not just as the heir to the Red Skull and as the future head of HYDRA, but also genuinely as her son. Or at least as well as she could.

The von Strucker family very well knew it. There was a reason Thea had never made a bid for HYDRA, and it was for the fact that her son’s life could very well be forfeit. The Baron would order his grandson’s death with no regrets – that was something Thea knew.

As such, it was a fragile balance. Andrea knew that someday, it might very well shatter. She intended to be far away from the crossfire when it happened.

“Thea, we knew the second you sent Fionna to put him on that jet to Australia. You don’t think my own sources didn’t tell me immediately, let alone others?” Andrea wondered, sighing as she looked back to her.

Really, Thea should have been smarter. Melanie had been Aiden’s nanny since she was a child, and she was taking care of Miranda now. Of course Melanie warned the von Struckers as soon as Aiden was gone with Thea’s second in command, straight back to Thea’s own mother.

“Who else knows?” Thea asked as she turned back around. Her voice was tranquil, contrasting to the rage in her eyes. She started to pace, like an animal in a cage.

“My father and brother, of course,” Andrea pointed out. She sighed as she tugged her jacket off her shoulders, placing it over a chair and looking back at Thea. “C’mon, Thea. You don’t think that my father keeps close tabs on his only grandson?”

Thea’s red hair whipped as she turned to glare at Andrea. “I’ve seen how close an eye your father keeps on your brothers. If he kept a closer one, Stephanie Malick wouldn’t have her brat.”

The smile Andrea gave was more von Strucker than anything else. “Probably not. But trust me when I say that my father has worked too hard to make sure his grandson had Schmidt blood and the von Strucker name _not_ to keep an eye on every movement on him.”

The redhead grit her teeth and looked back down at Rumlow. There was no gentleness or softness to her face. “How much longer will this take?” Her eyes flickered back to Rumlow, her expression unreadable.

“You know I can’t give you an answer.” Andrea tossed her gloves into the trash before looking back over at her.

Thea sighed and looked back at her. “Aiden’s staying in Australia. I don’t care how hard your father tries to bring him here or back to Germany, I don’t want him on any active HYDRA bases while we’re in this stalemate with the Avengers.”

“He won’t.” No one knew better than HYDRA’s most powerful head how dangerous their positions were at the moment. And he would be more than happy with his only grandson safe and hidden as far away as possible. “He’ll be safe there, and he’ll probably-“

The lab door slid open, and Andrea fell silent as a guard came in. Really, it took a brave guard to interrupt them in Andrea’s lab. Or one that the Baron wanted dead. The guard seemed to think it was the latter as he nodded to them both.

“The Baron summons you both to his office at once,” the guard reported, turning on his heel and walking away. He was smart enough to know to walk away while he could.

Andrea hummed and looked at Thea. “Maybe you _are_ on the shit list.”

Thea rolled her eyes, but followed. The Gehenna base was one of the larger bases the von Struckers controlled. It’d been a safe haven for those who survived the fall of HYDRA in World War II, and it’d been where the son of the Red Skull himself had been raised in secret. Alaric Schmidt fathered Thea, and perished at the hands of SHIELD agents while he’d try to resurrect HYDRA the first time. Thea was born four months after his death, the only living person in the world with the Red Skull’s blood.

And now, Andrea realized, they could use this base for their first battle. There was a sort of symmetry to it. All it would take was some careful planning.

The Baron’s office looked over the mountains of New Zealand, an absolutely gorgeous bit of scenery that wouldn’t be out of place on a postcard. Andrea admired the view every time she came in, and her brown eyes flickered to the large windows as she entered.

One brief glance at the scenery, at serenity. A deep breath. And Andrea refocused to what was in front of her – her family’s legacy, her legacy. And she would do her duty as a von Strucker.

Her attention was next taken to the ones waiting in the office. Her brother sat in a chair near the desk. Roguishly handsome and about as arrogant as any heir to HYDRA could be, Otto was far more combat capable than Andrea. If she was the behind the scenes science division, he was the front lines soldier – though even his abilities paled in comparison to Thea’s. Not that Otto, of course, would ever say differently.

Otto nodded at her when she walked into the room. Their relationship was tenuous, but they were siblings, and knew their mother would kill the survivor if they decided to reenact Cain and Abel on each other. When he saw the mother of his son though, Otto only sneered. Thea had a death glare in return.

Some things never changed. Otto and Thea’s mutual hatred was one of them.

And there was her father. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker had been intimidating to her since childhood. His back was to the door of his office, his gaze out to the mountains that took Andrea’s attention time and time again.

“Father,” Andrea greeted, keeping her voice calm and collected. A von Strucker kept their composure, no matter what. Werner was a literal teenager, and Otto was an idiot. Andrea had to be the one to keep her calm no matter what.

“Andrea. Cynthia. I believe we have some things to discuss,” the Baron mentioned as he turned to look at both his own daughter and the mother of his grandson. His monocle gaze flickered between the two of them.

“Like the fact that you sent Aiden to Australia without mentioning it to me,” Otto interjected. He gave a vicious smile as he moved to his feet. “Nice coparenting there, Sin.”

There was Otto, fearless and disrespectful as always. Andrea knew better than to expect any backlash to fall on her father’s son. He might threaten Otto on occasion, and might muse that taking him out might be easier, but the Baron would not seriously consider it until Aiden was older. For now, Otto was the heir to HYDRA. Someday, Aiden would be old enough to be considered a viable heir.

When that day came, Andrea knew things would get interesting.

The redhead’s eyes flashed Otto spoke. “How’s your daughter?” Thea wondered.

Her brother’s temper was so easy to rile. “You want to go that route, Schmidt?” He moved to his feet, and the two were face to face in a second. Otto’s hand moved to the gun on his waist, and Thea’s to the knife strapped to her thigh.

“Enough. You’re both dismissed.” The Baron sounded bored, but Andrea knew him well enough to recognize the annoyance. “Do not kill each other. Aiden is safe in Australia with Susan, and we at Gehenna are decidedly not. If either of you have an idea to correct that, then you can actually say something.”

Andrea remained in her spot, completely still. She could see the consideration on both her friend and brother’s faces. They were wondering if they could kill the other and get away with it. At this point, considering all the frustration, Andrea wondered if her father would let them. It might save him some grief.

The stalemate broke before one could strike. Thea turned on her heel and stormed away. Andrea sympathized with whatever poor grunt would be dragged into the sparring arena with her. That was usually how Thea got out her frustrations.

“Otto, you are dismissed,” the Baron repeated as he shot a look at his son. “I said both. You are capable of listening, after all.”

Otto looked surprised that he was being sent out as well. Otto was always shocked when there were consequences for his actions. He glanced briefly at them both, looking back at his father as if he expected him to change his mind.

“Go, Otto,” the Baron said firmly. “I want to speak with your sister alone.”

Otto grit his teeth. “Yes, Father.”

Andrea watched her brother walk away, keeping her face as passive as possible. The door slammed shut behind him, and only then did Andrea allow herself a little smirk. Even as adults, there was still a bit of glee to watching her brother get into trouble with their father.

The Baron gave a long-suffering sigh. “I should have them both killed. It would save me the trouble later on.”

Andrea gave a fond eyeroll, one that she let her father see. “You’ve said that a thousand times since Otto and I were twelve.”

“And each time I’m more convinced I should.”

“Otto and Thea are both useful. And despite their arguments, both are smart enough and love Aiden enough not to go against each other.” Thea did, at least. Otto loved himself about all. Andrea moved to sit in the chair Otto vacated. “Your other choice is letting a preschooler or Werner become your heir.”

“As strong as I believe Aiden will be someday, he is not ready.” The fact that he didn’t dismiss the possibility outright amused her. The Baron scoffed. “I don’t even know what country Werner is in now.”

“Greece.” Andrea, at least, kept an eye on her teenaged brother. “I believe he rented a yaught.”

“Of course he did. Your mother spoils him.” The Baron looked back at his daughter. “Do you believe your time is worth being spent on Brock Rumlow?”

She’d been practicing the justifications for this long enough. “If it keeps Thea compliant and gives us a useful soldier further down the line, then yes.” Andrea shrugged. “The worst that happens is that these experiments fail. I learn more from failure than I do from success, Father.”

This felt normal. There’d been tension, an edge of anger to his interactions with her ever since she’d gotten pregnant. She’d gone back to work the second she could after having her daughter. But this, him asking about her work, venting to her about her brother and Thea… this was normal for Andrea. This was normal and almost okay, and she tried to hide how much it relieved her.

Then came the question that Andrea could not expect at all. “How is my granddaughter?”

Andrea couldn’t help but start in surprise. It was the first time that Baron von Strucker acknowledged the existence of his second granddaughter, and Andrea felt her heart jump into her throat at the realization. She’d been so afraid for her life, for Miranda’s life.

Then again, Andrea had long proved herself the most competent of her father’s children. It was no wonder that her father might accept his third grandchild for that reason alone.

“She’s well. Healthy. Strong. Melanie is watching her at home in Germany.” She was proud of how her voice stayed steady. Andrea looked back at him, her face softening. “She looks like me.”

The Baron didn’t reply, and Andrea did not allow herself to think that she saw a slight softening in his eyes. “And Miranda’s father?”

“In SHIELD custody. I don’t doubt he’ll find a way to escape eventually, but for now… he’s locked up.” And Andrea prayed that he would remain soon. There was a darkness in her daughter’s father that scared even her, a girl born and raised in HYDRA’s highest ranks.

The Baron sighed. “As long as he does not begin a problem.”

“He doesn’t know about her, so he won’t.”

And Andrea had every intention of making sure he never found out.

The Baron sighed as he moved to the cabinet against the far wall of his office. He took out a bottle of his and Andrea’s favorite brandy out and poured two glasses. Andrea moved to her feet and two her father’s desk, her shoulders a bit more relaxed, the terror relaxed from her mind.

“I remember when you were born, you and Otto,” the Baron mentioned. “Everything changed in that one moment. I had two children to protect, to raise to the best of my abilities. But my dedication to HYDRA remained the same, as did your mother’s. I expect yours to do the same.”

She took the crystal glass with a nod of thanks, but wondered if Otto had gotten the same talk before Aiden or Sophia had been born. “Would you expect anything else of me?”

“Of course not. But I have to be sure to state it.” He raised his glass, and she clinked hers against his before taking a deep sip. The Baron squeezed her shoulder gently. “It is good to see you at work,” he said simply. “You were born to this, Andrea.”

Andrea shrugged lightly and glanced to the windows. The sunset was darkening the mountains around them, and she sipped at the bitter brandy. “Everyone has their gifts.”

“And yours will help bring HYDRA to victory.” Andrea watched as her father’s body darkened against the sunset, his silhouette soon the only thing she saw. “Make no mistake, Andrea. We are at war now. We are choosing to let the Avengers strike first.”

“Why?” Andrea wondered. Her father raised a brow. “You know I’m not questioning your plans, Father.”

“I know you well enough for that, Andrea.” A smile cracked his face. “Always the most curious. Never questioning authority, but seeking to understand _why_. You’ve always been the scientist.”

“I am your daughter.” Andrea was ready to prove that despite Miranda, she was still dedicated to HYDRA, to her father’s vision. She would do anything to prove it.

The Baron paused and studied her with a little smile. “You know I plan to let them make the first move. But I know you have to have an idea on how to turn that to our advantage. You’re a von Strucker at heart. You plan twelve moves ahead, with twelve more backup plans.” He looked back out at the mountains. “If they do not know of Gehenna, they will soon. So, Andrea, in my position, what would you do?”

Andrea hesitated for only the briefest of moments. “We lead them to attack here.”

It made sense. Avengers’ Tower was too well defended. They would expect an attack on their home soil after the fall of the Triskelion. They could not risk attacking the Tower until enough time passed that their guard would be down. As such, the only logical move was to take the home field advantage and lure the Avengers here.

She doubted Thea would take any of them out. The Avengers were still learning, but their success in New York proved they could cobble enough cooperation to take down their enemies. It would be testing the waters of their abilities. It would take a sacrifice of HYDRA, but Andrea knew that Baron von Strucker of anyone was ready to make that sacrifice.

Andrea raised an eyebrow at her father and stepped forward, putting the glass down on the table. “You said that we want them to make the first move, to show their strength,” she pointed out. “Then we let them attack Gehenna. Not a trap, but an experiment. Leak the intel we want them to know, even a little bit that would be advantageous to them. We move anything we want hidden out of this base. Let my research go to Novi Grad. Let Thea remain here to prove she is a threat. Hide Otto so they’re unaware of him, and of me. Leave yourself so they are unaware of you and our leadership as well. We know they are aware of Whitehall already, and it’s only a matter of time before they find out Malick with his affiliation with the World Security Council. I would be shocked if Valentina de Fontaine does not already suspect it.”

In Andrea’s mind, a chessboard was laid out in front of her. Rooks and knights and pawns and bishops, kings and queen. War was like a game of chess. Sometimes, you had to sacrifice a pawn or a queen to win the game – and in this case, Gehenna had to be that sacrifice.

“This involves giving up this base,” the Baron pointed out.

“A small sacrifice in the long run. This base is deep in HYDRA history. There is no way they won’t discover that it’s a stronghold, not with them already being aware of Thea’s heritage.”

Andrea took a step to face her father, standing directly in front of him. She summoned her courage before stating, her voice as strong as vibranium, “They will take down this base. They will count it as a victory. But one battle does not win the war. They might win this battle, but what we gain from this loss will win us the war.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Andrea took another deep breath. The Baron turned to her, smiled, and tilted her chin up. “That’s my girl,” he said simply.

Andrea smiled quietly, relieved that she’d gotten back into his good graces. Life could be difficult on the shit list of the higher ups of HYDRA. And she was smart enough to realize that she needed to stay in the good books as much as possible – if not to protect herself, to protect Miranda.

The Baron took his seat his desk, already summoning other commanders of the base. “We will follow this plan, Andrea. Go and gather up what needs to stay on the dark.”

Andrea smiled quietly. “Yes, Father.”

As she turned from the room, her father’s voice stopped her. “Andrea.”

The blonde turned back, raising her chin.

The Baron looked thoughtful. “I’m changing one aspect of your plan.” His eyes flickered back to her, and he gave a little smile. “I’ll be remaining on this base. I think it would be better for the Avengers to put a face to their enemy – and to realize how out or their depth they truly are.”

The Baron reached into his desk, and Andrea watched silently as he pulled out a knife, old and worn with rust. The Red Skull once carried that knife. It’d been recovered from the Valkyrie, stolen by HYDRA agents.

“HYDRA is not the same as it was last year, my dear girl. It’s time a lesson was learned.” His eyes flickered to her, and his smile chilled even Andrea’s spine. “Don’t you agree?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Otto von Strucker** – Charlie Hunnam  
> Otto von Strucker is this universe's version of Andreas von Strucker, renamed as a shout-out to The Gifted and so I don't have to spend three hours a chapter making sure I'm putting Andreas or Andrea in the right place.
> 
> On another note, I initially planned to go into a hiatus after this arc so Black Widow could come out, but since that doesn't look like it's happening, we're going to go even more AU and I'm just going to write by the seat of my pants. Yay!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers spring a trap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought being stuck in quarantine meant that I would have more time to write. Apparently not. Let's see just how badly a first mission can go, shall we?

**January 2015 – Avengers Tower, New York**

One week after they arrived back from California, Coulson’s SHIELD came through with intel on a base the new Director had mentioned personally to Sharon in an earlier conference call. It was too big for Coulson’s team to handle, but might be the perfect base for the Avengers to target as an opening move.

“Gehenna,” Sharon said, frowning as she studied her StarkPad. Her work phone sat on her desk, currently on speaker.

“Gehenna,” Coulson confirmed. “It’s hidden in the Southern Alps in New Zealand. Hard to get to. Harder to break into. From what we can tell, it’s one of their cornerstone bases.”

“Seems like a big target,” Sharon noted as she sat on the top of the desk in her office. Her eyes flickered to the two men watching her. “But you’re not giving me the reason _why_ this base is a good target, Coulson.”

Standing across from her, Steve’s arms were crossed against his chest, his brow furrowed with a frown. The super soldier’s blue eyes flickered to an exhausted Tony. The billionaire was leaning forward, glaring at the phone like it had personally insulted him. Coulson was smart enough to be aware that every bit of the conversation would be relayed to the Avengers, even if he wasn’t on speakerphone.

“Frankly, it’s beyond what we would be able to handle,” Coulson admitted. “There’s more men than we can handle. It needs brute force, not a quiet strike. There are potentially high-level targets in that base that I do not want Barnes anywhere near.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. Coulson was SHIELD at heart, and Sharon had no doubt that the comment was made intentionally. A blind man could see that when it came to Bucky Barnes, Steve was compromised. Sharon knew that things were never as simple as they seemed.

“And is you not letting him in on this a reflection of your trust in Barnes?” Sharon wondered.

“No.” The response was firm, and Sharon’s brown eyes flickered to Steve as she raised an eyebrow. “My trust in Barnes is very firm. He’s been proving himself down here. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to throw him into a fight against someone who might know how to trigger the Soldier. He’s better as a surprise.”

The blonde paused, realization hitting her a moment later. “Coulson, did Barnes give you Gehenna?”

Steve stiffened, stepping a bit too close to try and listen in. Sharon shot him a warning look at Coulson admitted, “Yes. Barnes gave us the name and location. We had scouts look at it, and it’s too well defended – but there’s one weakness right now. They’re evacuating it. Moving assets, experiments, everything. It’s going to be abandoned. Even now, it’s too well defended for the people I have. But the Avengers… they won’t expect you. And if you want to make an opening move, this is a hell of a start.”

“Wouldn’t it just be?” Tony muttered.

The super soldier shot him a look before speaking up. “How easy was it to observe this base, Director?”

Apparently, Steve was learning tone and passive aggressive combat from them all, because calling him by his new title instead of by his name was a great way to guilt an honest answer out of Coulson. “Easy. And yes, I’m aware that it might be a trap as well. But it might be something that has to be risked.”

Sharon sighed. “Send me the intel on Gehenna, and we’ll decide. Does the New Zealand government know that we’re looking at it as a target?”

“Considering SHIELD’s current status as persona non grata, I’m going to let you handle that.”

“Thanks, Phil.” Sharon looked up at the ceiling. “Forward everything to me. I’ll send it to Maria; she’ll start up the process of getting this started so we at least can try and work with local governments. Even if we decide not to use it as our target, New Zealand probably won’t want HYDRA operating in their borders.”

That was a logistical nightmare, but as Fury’s left hand, Maria had always been good at sorting out logistical nightmares. She might focus on recruitment, but they readily agreed that Maria had a better chance of getting governments to work with them. Sharon was competent, but she was also young and blonde and appeared unassuming. Maria had a resting bitch face and a steel spine she couldn’t hide.

“It’s all on your tablet now.” Sharon glanced down at her tablet and handed it across to Steve when the super soldier stepped forward. “This base has a lot of intel. A lot of personnel. And it might lead us to who’s currently leading HYDRA.”

Tony peeked around Steve’s shoulder to look at the intel, frowning deeply. “Barnes thinks that the Skull’s son was hidden there after the Skull died?” he asked, frowning. “Because that’s a convenient story. You really think they’d be dumb enough to hold onto a base that long?”

“Dumb, no. Reverent, yes,” Steve corrected, flipping the screen to look at another picture, this one a far-away look at the base itself, mostly hidden by the snow and rock. “If the Skull’s son was raised there, then it would have a lot of value to them. HYDRA worshipped Schmidt back then. It doesn’t sound like a lot has changed, especially if Schmidt’s son had any involvement in leadership before his death.”

“Alaric Schmidt was a leader of HYDRA during the Cold War,” Coulson confirmed. “I’ve sent that intel along as well – he tried to raise HYDRA for the first time back in the 1980s, but was killed by two SHIELD assets. HYDRA considered him a god, more or less. And you said yourself, Captain, there’s a Schmidt high up in the modern day.”

Sharon sighed. “And she’s dangerous. HYDRA respects strength as much as a family name.”

“Thea Schmidt has both,” Steve said quietly, his voice dark as he looked back at Sharon.

“Some things never change, I guess,” Tony deadpanned. “Except Schmidts now have red hair instead of red skulls.”

Sharon only sighed. “Thank you, Phil. I’ll let you know what we decide.”

There was no hesitation in using the word _we_. They had to present themselves as a team, and Sharon was a member of that support staff, of that team. She might not be an Avenger, but part of her job was keeping them alive _to_ avenge.

And even if they needed to make a move, she would not throw them into the fire without an idea of whether they could escape.

Sharon hung up the phone, and sighed as she stood up from her desk. “It’s almost too good to be true,” Sharon admitted as she led the way out of her office and over to the conference room with the Murder Board. She would never forgive Barton for coining that damned name.

“Almost? It’s _way_ too good to be true,” Tony argued. She never thought they’d reach the day where Tony Stark was the cautious one of them. “The only thing missing is Admiral Ackbar screaming _it’s a trap_.” He snapped his fingers “Hey, JARVIS-“

“No, Tony,” Sharon said firmly, shooting him a look.

The other four Avengers and Maria Hill were waiting in the HYDRA Room. Natasha had been playing with the Murder Board, with Thea Schmidt’s image the brightest among them. Thor sat on the farthest end of the conference table, studying the board carefully, while Bruce stood near the windows, watching the storm outside the city. Clint and Hill were on the other side of the conference table, both sitting, Hill’s laptop and a few files spread in front of her.

“So, did he give us something actually useful?” Clint asked when he saw them enter, his voice sharply casual.

Sharon nodded, shooting him another look. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Clint being pissy about Coulson. “He gave us a base in New Zealand. Called Gehenna.”

“He also gave us a trap,” Tony answered, sighing in frustration as he crossed the room to the pot of coffee.

“A potential trap,” Sharon corrected, shooting him a warning look.

“No, Tony’s right,” Steve admitted, looking back at Sharon. He would never live down saying that he thought Tony was right. “It’s a trap. No questions about it.”

Sharon sighed. “Okay, it’s absolutely a trap. But that doesn’t mean we should let this base go.”

“Do we know for a fact it’s a trap?” Bruce broke in.

Steve only sighed. “It’s pretty obviously a trap,” he admitted. Bruce looked at Sharon, and the blonde shrugged helplessly. “I think Coulson is right though. He’s playing a long game, and we’re better off for a mission like this, a quick and hard strike.”

“They’re moving equipment and people out of there,” Sharon explained as she took the back the tablet. She linked the tablet to the screen opposite of the Murder Board, bringing up what images and intel they had. “And they’re moving it fast. They either know it’s a target, or they’re consolidating somewhere they know we can’t go.”

“Sinking the Lerna a few months back might have spooked them,” Maria pointed out, gesturing to Thor and Tony. “It was the first HYDRA base taken down after the Triskelion, and your definition of taking it down was sinking it to the bottom of a Greek caldera.”

Tony hummed. “Yeah, well, the Abomination was trying to kill us. Had to be done.”

“Agreed, but Gehenna is our present problem. Do we still strike even if we know it’s a trap?” Thor asked, frowning deeply. “Sometimes the risk is worth the reward.”

“Organization will be down because of them moving everything around, but security will be up,” Maria pointed out. “It’s a mixed bag. HYDRA knows it, we know it. They might be counting on us keeping the stalemate long enough for them to reorganize.”

Sharon moved a finger across the string, bringing up the image of the base. Next to it, she dragged an image of an older man with dark red hair and a cold look on his face, even in the grainy pixels. “There’s also fact that taking Gehenna would be a significant morale hit to HYDRA,” Sharon mentioned.

“Morale hit?” Clint asked.

“Gehenna has a lot of significance in HYDRA history,” Sharon explained.

“It’s like their own little pilgrimage site,” Tony muttered, scowling furiously as he sipped at his coffee. He hissed slightly when he burned his tongue, putting it down.

Steve’s eyes hadn’t moved from the picture of Thea Schmidt on the Murder Board. “Back during the war, we ran into a supposed spy for the SSR in Germany, Ophelia. We believed the intel she gave about HYDRA having a base at a castle in Germany. They had a base alright – and Ophelia lead us right into a trap. We barely got out alive. We realized that she was a spy, and she nearly killed a few Commandos in her escape.”

“Thea Schmidt confirmed that Ophelia was her grandmother back when we were kidnapped in July,” Sharon mentioned. She glanced back up at the Murder Board before gesturing at the image on the briefing screen. “Based on timelines and leaked HYDRA files, Ophelia was pregnant with her and Schmidt’s son in early 1945. We found a record of an Ophelia Schmidt delivering a baby in Australia twelve weeks after the Skull’s death, no father listed. Alaric Schmidt was raised in Gehenna by his mother and other HYDRA agents before his death in 1980.”

“And Thea Schimdt was born a few months after his death,” Natasha ended, glancing back at the picture of the redhead.

“Like parent, like child, apparently,” Clint mentioned. He paused as he seemed to realize something, looking back at Sharon. “Wait, is there any evidence that she might have a kid?”

Sharon didn’t look back at him. It was a thought that’d crossed her mind. And judging from the look on Steve’s face, he’d thought the same thing.

“We’ve found no proof either way,” Steve admitted. “But… that data would be protected at the highest levels. If it was even written down.”

“If it’s written down anywhere, it’d be there,” Thor mused. “If this base is as sacred to them as you say it is.”

Tony shook his head, sipping the coffee and clearly ignoring the burn in his mouth. “So that leads us to this question,” he said. “Does the potential intel and blow to HYDRA this could be justify throwing ourselves into an obvious trap where they have a big homefield advantage?”

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes. Sharon stayed quiet in the last bits of the debate. She might think it was worth the risk, but she would not be the one running into danger. She would be mission control, their eyes in the sky. If this was to be the first mission the Avengers took since New York, they had to agree that this was the right one.

These six overgrown children had to learn communication skills anyway. Might as well be in a debate of whether or not an obvious trap would be worth any intel they could get out of it.

“We’re at war, guys,” Natasha pointed out. “And if you don’t think that HYDRA will find a way to start striking at us as soon as they get the chance…”

That was a fact that scared each and every one of them. Thor was married with a son. Tony had a daughter with the love of his life. They all had family and friends that could be put in the line of fire, and HYDRA was absolutely ruthless enough to hurt the people that they loved. Making them hesitate, putting them on the defensive, might be the only option.

“If we do this, we need to be in agreement,” Steve said, his voice low. “Because this is the first move. It’s not a perfect first move. It’s one they’ll expect. But that doesn’t mean we can’t throw a few surprises their way too.”

There was silence for a few minutes. No one met each other’s eye until Sharon and Maria locked gazes. They were cut from Clint and Natasha’s cloth than the others. They understood that there was no perfect mission. Everyone else did too, but spies understood chaos on a different level from soldiers and civilians.

Maria sighed and looked up before saying, “I’m not on this team. But sometimes in SHIELD, we had to take risks. I think this is worth it.”

Thor, up and away the most experienced with war, was the first to speak up. “I do believe it’s a trap. But I also believe that we will not have more intel than we do now. Was it leaked to us, yes. But not all of it. When you put a hole in a dam, you cannot control what slips out.”

“They’ll expect it,” Natasha said. “But they won’t expect when it’s coming. I think if we choose the right time, it’ll take all the energy behind their trap.” She glanced at her partner and raised an eyebrow, clearly knowing what he would say.

Clint sighed. “There’s not gonna be a right time to strike. So… might as well go in while we have a plan and a guarantee of where they are.”

From the look on Steve’s face, he hated the idea, but he would accept this fight. Sharon’s eyes flickered to the Science Bros as they so called themselves, Tony staring into his coffee and Bruce biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“We’re not gonna know if the Big Guy can handle a fight unless we put him in one.” Bruce’s statement sounded as though it was as easy to release as it was to pull a tooth from said Other Guy himself. “So… I think that we might have to take the bait.”

Five yeses from six Avengers. Tony was the only holdout. Sharon couldn’t say she was surprised.

The man Sharon knew since she’d been a little girl breathed out a sigh of exhaustion and exasperation. “I hate this plan,” the billionaire said.

“I know,” Steve replied.

“I think it’s stupid.”

“I know.”

“It’s a trap and it could go wrong in an absolute second.”

“That’s why we’re going in with a plan.”

“If that goes wrong?”

“We move to the backup plan.”

Tony looked at the ceiling, giving a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. Let’s do it. Let’s plan it and plan it well and…” He took a deep breath. “Hope it doesn’t fall apart on the way in.”

“Agreed.” He looked back at Sharon. “Get what you can, start drawing up plans. I want to know as much of the layout as we can, numbers on guards and anyone else there, and who if any of the higher ups are there.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Sharon replied. She picked up her tablet and moved to the door. “Give me a few days and I’ll get an intel report together – then we can go planning.”

“As soon as you can, Agent.” What had once been a taunt was now an implication of deep trust, and it was only the seriousness of the situation that stopped her from smiling. Steve turned to the rest of them. “For the rest of us… no idea is a stupid idea. Let’s start brainstorming.”

The unspoken _and hope it’s enough_ was loud enough for them all.

* * *

**January 2015 – Avengers Tower, New York**

At 4 am on the last Sunday in January, Sharon’s phone alarm went off.

Her hand fumbled for it on the bedside table, and she took a second to orient herself to her surroundings. She wasn’t in her apartment. She was in one of the barrack rooms at the Tower, because today was the day that the Avengers were going to find out if they could handle being a team.

Considering that the quinjet would be taking off at 6 am that day, there was no point in Sharon staying at her apartment and coming back that early in the morning. Steve, Natasha, and Clint had done the same thing, staying in other barracks. She heard movement in Steve’s room next to hers. She wondered if he slept at all.

After a quick shower, she changed into a pair of black slacks and a blue button-down shirt and headed down to the main area. Tony had ordered breakfast in from a chef he knew and trusted, and that would be ready by 5 am. They all needed full stomachs before their first mission, though Sharon wasn’t convinced she could keep anything down.

Clint was already in the common area, on what was more likely than not his third cup of coffee. To Sharon’s surprise, Kate Bishop was, dressed in a purple sweatshirt and leggings. She hadn’t been there the night before, and considering the fact that Kate was nineteen, Sharon was surprised she was willing to get up that early and get there. God knew it took a miracle to get her cousin Lizzie out of bed before 9 am.

“Someone’s dressed up,” Clint observed when she poured herself a cup of coffee.

She didn’t reply until she downed half the mug. “If I’m going to be mission control, I want to look the part.” Part of it was all in the mindset, but being in something she would’ve worn as Agent 13 made it easier to lock the mindset in.

Clint nodded in understanding. “Someone’s got to be our Hawkeye’s Eyes in the Sky.”

“Shut up,” Kate growled, rolling her eyes and tearing off a piece of cinnamon roll. “I hate that they told you about that.”

The archer only smirked. There were no nerves on his face or in his stance. He was an experienced agent. Sharon knew him well enough to know that he would hide any doubts – especially in front of Kate. Natasha would be the only one to notice any of them.

“Sharon, you mind if I’m in the control room?” Kate asked after a few moments. “I – if I want to do this someday, I want to know what happens on both sides.”

The blonde hesitated briefly, raising a brow at Clint. The archer nodded simply. Clint trusted Kate completely. So did Natasha, considering she’d brought her on her hunt for Clint. And Kate more than proved herself during the attack on the gulag.

“If I tell you to walk out, you walk out,” Sharon said after a moment. “Deal?”

Kate nodded eagerly. “Deal.”

Everyone filed down over the next half an hour. Pepper had cancelled a talk last-minute in order to be at the Tower all day. She might be used to it, but Pepper Potts would always worry about Tony Stark, especially now that they shared the small little girl in Tony’s arms. Thor came down and mentioned that Erik had been up most of the night so Jane would come down to see them off after she got some sleep. Sharon was amused to see that Thor brought their son down, perhaps as a guarantee that Jane would get some sleep. Natasha was down soon enough, looking completely fine, and Bruce was down after that, the circles under his eyes suggesting he got as much sleep as he usually did.

Sharon paused when she noticed who hadn’t appeared in the kitchen. She knew exactly where he’d likely be however. She was quiet as she gathered a plate of food together and refilled her own mug coffee. She nodded at Nat briefly before balancing a water bottle filled with orange juice before heading down the hall and into the briefing room.

Sure enough, Steve stood in the middle of the room, his brow furloughed as he studied the Plot Board as it was now being called, directly across from the Murder Board. The Murder Board was the long game – the Plot Board was the short-term.

“Morning,” Steve said simply as she entered, not looking back over at her.

“Hey. You need to eat,” Sharon ordered simply as she placed the plate on the table directly behind Steve. “I know how many calories you need.”

The super soldier turned to her with a raised eyebrow, but reached for the piece of French toast on the plate and took a bite from it. “We’ve got it planned out,” he said. “We have backup plans for each one of us. Our heavy hitters on the outside, our spies on the inside… and I still don’t know if it’s enough.”

“I don’t think we will until you’re there,” Sharon admitted. “This is the same as SHIELD though. You go in with a plan, and if it’s not enough, you adapt.”

“This isn’t SHIELD.”

Sharon looked back at him. “Three out of six Avengers are SHIELD veterans, one of the other three a SHIELD consultant. Both of your top support staff are SHIELD. We’ve got more SHIELD in us than we don’t, Steve.”

The super soldier didn’t reply, instead only downing the rest of the plate. They could hear conversation from the many lounge area, a few jokes and someone bitching about Clint and Kate drinking all the coffee. Sharon finished her mug and smiled quietly. The banter felt normal. She remembered plenty of missions of downing coffee with Clint and Clay, talking quietly with Jimmy over analytics, stretching with Bobbi and Kara and Natasha.

“When was your first SHIELD mission?” Steve asked suddenly.

Sharon shot him a surprised look. “What?” she asked, realizing that maybe the coffee hadn’t kicked in just yet.

“Your first SHIELD mission.” Steve looked back over at her. “I’m… call it curious, I guess.”

Her face softened, and she sipped briefly at her coffee. “It was three weeks after I graduated the Academy,” she said. She glanced up at the screen, her mind flashing back. “It was a simple infiltration to a human trafficking ring run by Esme Visser out of Cambodia.”

“Simple, huh?” Steve asked, raising a brow at her.

Sharon smirked and shrugged lightly. “Well, simple to me. I got enough evidence to take down a few people, and saved some others along the way. Proved I was pretty good with undercover, so they threw me on a mission with Strike Team Delta to see my others skills. That’s how I met Nat and Clint. I got good reviews from them, and was fast tracked up a few clearance levels, specializing in undercover operations and analytics.”

“And that lead to watching Doctor Foster and then me?” Steve asked. He smiled quietly. “From what I remember, you got caught both times.”

“Alien literally invading Earth caused me to break my cover with Doctor Foster, and you didn’t find out until Fury was shot and bleeding to death in your apartment, so I don’t think I’m too blame with those covers breaking.” Steve smiled despite himself, even if it didn’t reach his eyes. “What about yours?” she asked curiously.

“Commandos or SHIELD?”

Sharon snorted. “SHIELD. I took APUSH and attended the summer Howling Commando reunions, I remember enough of the Commando missions.”

Steve decided he didn’t want to think about just what Sharon knew about his missions. He’d gotten himself and the others into trouble a fair few time, and Peggy wasn’t the type to sanitize history to make someone else look good. “It was a few weeks before the AIM mess with Tony. I went with STRIKE to take down a Jade Syndicate drug ring operating in South Korea. It was to the point. No problems. I think, in hindsight, the higher ups designed it that way. Have me learn that I can trust SHIELD, I guess.”

“…I can confirm that yeah, they did.” She knew the details of that too, but Kate was still a wall between them in some ways. Today wasn’t the day to poke at old wounds. “Let’s hope that today goes as well as both of those do.”

Steve gave a little smile. “Let’s hope, Sharon.”

The others gathered within a few minutes of the time they’d decided. Everyone looked to be in different levels of awake. Erik Foster was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, squirming in his father’s lap and trying to get on the ground. Sharon knew that Erik was crawling at that point, but Thor kept his son in his lap, bouncing him on his knee to comfort him.

If it was as comforting to Thor as it was to Erik, Sharon couldn’t blame him.

Steve looked back at her and nodded briefly to begin. Sharon waved her hand, and the Plot Board came to life in front of them, starting with an image of Gehenna, accompanied by the most modern layout Sharon was able to find on the base.

“We all know the target. Gehenna – one of HYDRA’s top bases, located deep in the Southern Alps of New Zealand,” Sharon started, gesturing to move the image of Gehenna. “Per our SHIELD intel, they began evacuating about two weeks ago. Due to the size of the base and the amount of intel inside, it’s taking them along. There’s also a high chance they’re delaying the evacuation to lure the Avengers in.”

High chance meaning there was every absolute chance. “But considering all the other factors we have… it’s a risk we have to take,” Natasha summarized, probably for Pepper’s reassurance more than anything. The CEO clearly wasn’t completely happy about everything.

“Last estimate we had of personal was a few dozen scientist, and possibly up to a hundred security agents,” Sharon finished, pausing briefly. “There’s also evidence that Thea Schmidt is there based on a sighting in Australia a few weeks back.” The image of the redhead appeared up. “She’s dangerous, smart, and ruthless. Do not engage unless necessary.”

Steve stepped forward. “Right now, there’s no sign of further leadership inside that base. Schmidt is the highest-ranking agent present. Do not assume that however.”

Tony took a deep breath, tugging a hand through his hair. “Objection still search and destroy?” he asked.

“Nat and Clint go in and put down the explosives to take down the base,” Sharon said, gesturing at the duo. “Side objective is getting any intel we can get, that’s going to be Nat’s job, Clint will focus on explosives. Rogers is thinning out the crowd and searching for any prisoners. We don’t have proof that there is, but with the _Lerna_ drowned, they’ll have a new gifted prison somewhere. If an agent runs from the base, let them go. The mountain will probably take care of them anyway.”

Steve gestured at Tony, Thor, and Bruce. “The three of you are going to be attacking from the outside. Destabilize security, keep their attention, and try and make it hard for them to focus on us inside.” Steve looked back at Bruce. “Last chance to stop the Big Guy from coming out on this.”

“No, this needs to happen.” Sharon was surprised by how confident Bruce sounded. “Sometimes he needs a now or never scenario.”

“In that case, does everyone else understand?” Steve asked. His eyes moved to every one of them. No questions came up. “In that case, wheels up in forty-five minutes. Be ready.”

Steve was the first one out of the room, and Sharon watched him go. She took a deep breath, masking her face the best she could. This was it. This was the first mission the Avengers were on, all six of them, since the Battle of New York.

There’d been a whole class on compartmentalization back at the Academy. On a mission, your friends were not your friends. They were your comrades, your allies. In theory, it would be easier to watch your comrade Captain America fall than to watch your friend Steve Rogers die.

Sharon passed compartmentalization with flying colors back at the academy. But perhaps that spoke more to the fact that she could hide her heartbreak when she did lose a friend.

For a brief second, Sharon prayed to every higher power she didn’t believe in to not lose one of her friends that day.

* * *

**January 2015 – Avengers Tower, New York**

It started off well.

The Avenges arrived in Gehenna’s airspace without detection. The base was less secure than they assumed from intel. Steve, Natasha, and Clint infiltrated the base, and Thor, Tony, and Bruce started their assault on the outside without any sign of resistance. Even with Sharon and Natasha choosing to believe it would be on the higher end of security according to their analysis, they were more than prepared for the guards that were there.

It was a half hour into the mission that Sharon started to get that feeling that something was going to go wrong.

Communication had been strong for the most part. The Avengers were bantering. Tony decided that the mission was the perfect time to try and convince the rest of them that attending the Maria Stark Gala in the first week of February wouldn’t be a completely awful time. Sharon had been to enough to know that yes, they were that awful of a time.

“I don’t do well at parties, Stark,” Clint complained. “Plus, you want me to dress up?”

“It’s free food, Hawkeye. Shouldn’t that be enough to get you there?”

“I’ll wear a nice dress, that’ll give you incentive enough to go,” Natasha assured him. Sharon smirked when she heard the familiar sound of a head hitting a well. “C’mon, guys, it’ll be fun.”

“I think you have a different definition of fun than I do, Widow,” Steve pointed out.

“C’mon, guys, it’ll help with donations if the Avengers show up. Shake a few hands, kiss a few babies…”

Sharon rolled her eyes. “Someone else better go to that, I already got dragged into it,” she complained over the comm system. There were some senators invited that remembered her father, and it would look good for her to be there. Plus, she always went when she could to support Tony, no matter how much she hated the event.

The banter trailed off as Steve, Clint, and Natasha went further into the base. Sharon tried to ignore the pit in her stomach, but she trusted her instincts. Nothing was going wrong yet, but Sharon had a feeling that something was about to happen. She just wished she knew what.

“It seems like it’s going okay,” Kate said, her voice quiet as she looked back at the screen. She paused. “I just jinxed it, didn’t I?”

“From my experience, Kate, ops that go bad are jinxed from the start. Superstitions don’t change that.”

Kate frowned at her. “Your call sign is literally Agent 13, and you’re not superstitious?”

“Remind me to tell you about why I’m 13 someday.” For now, she had to focus on why she felt like something was going to go wrong. They were prepared for any problems. But she still felt that pit in her stomach, warning her that something was about to go dangerously wrong.

A tinny click came across the comm line, and Sharon frowned, her eyes moving to the sensors. Nothing on the communications array showed anything wrong. Signals were coming in clear for the Avengers that were hooked up; Bruce had destroyed his monitor as soon as he’d transformed, so they didn’t have vitals on him. That sound had come from somewhere though, and she wanted to know where from.

“Avengers, give me a headcount,” Sharon ordered, putting a hand on her headset.

There’d been a discussion on what they were going to call her during missions. Despite Sharon’s job at Stark Industries not being hidden from the public or from the intelligence community, she would become an even higher target if it was discovered that she was going to be acting as their handler and mission control.

It’d been Steve’s idea to use her call sign, and as such, _not_ hide that it was her.

“HYDRA will know,” Natasha had pointed out in the first team meeting back in November. “It won’t hide her identity from them.”

“Good,” Steve replied. “She gave us time that we needed in the Triskelion to bring down Project Insight. HYDRA knows that, and they know who she is anyway. She’s on their threat list. Let them know that we have her.”

“Let them know I’m pissed and I’m going to tear them apart with every shred of weakness they show,” Sharon agreed. She’d winked at Steve at that point, grateful for the support. “They know I was good at my job. Let’s show them how good I’ll be with this one.”

And as such, she was back to Agent 13. There was something about reclaiming her call sign from SHIELD. She was taking back the name, using it for something good, using it to further Peggy’s legacy and make up for the mistakes SHIELD made around the way.

Besides, she was never going to get away from her Agent 13 persona. Nor would she get away from a lot of her closest friends calling her 13 the vast majority of the time anyway. She hadn’t even broken Thor from calling her Agent 13 yet, though she was going to do it sooner rather than later.

“I am still standing,” Thor reported. Static cackled on the line, and Sharon didn’t hide a wince when she heard a crack of lightning break through the communications. “The roads into their base are not.”

“Nicely done, Point Break!” Tony’s voice came through next, and apparently, he considered compliments on destruction as enough of a confirmation he was alive. If Tony was giving glib comment, he was alive.

There was only a distant roar from the Hulk. He was doing surprisingly well with everything. Bruce had been quiet on the ride to Gehenna, but the Hulk had been almost enthusiastic. Sharon intended to use Tony’s company card to buy him a very nice fruit basket or bouquet, whatever he and the Big Guy preferred. They still needed to figure out a comm piece and a monitor for him, but she’d let Tony and Bruce debate that later.

There was a pause, and Sharon waited for the other three. They’d been communicating just fine up to this point. The three of them had separated at that point, all off on their own jobs inside that base. Sharon hadn’t protested at the time because if they felt okay with it, it was worth a try.

She realized then that it might have been their biggest mistake so far on this op.

“Widow, Hawkeye, Cap, report in,” Sharon repeated after a few minutes. Their comms might not have the greatest signal. They might have been in a fight or trying to stay hidden. But it's been nearly ten minutes since that tinny click, and there hadn't been a word from the three inside since.

Silence was the only response. Kate sat up from her chair, taking a step forward. “Sharon, what’s going on?” she asked, her voice low. “Where are they?”

“I’m trying to figure it out, Kate.” Sharon’s voice sharpened, but she remained calm. “Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, this is Agent 13. Report in, what is your status?” She glanced up at the screen showing vital signs.

She realized her first mistake was using their normal Stark ID photos for their images on there. The faces of three of her friends stared back at her. Sharon tore her eyes away from them before ordering, “Tony, pull up the view.”

The images of the six was replaced by an overview of the Gehenna base from Tony’s suit. “Do you guys have any sign of them?” Sharon demanded.

“Not since Cap’s comment a few minutes ago,” Tony reported. “I’m not getting anything wrong with our comms, it’s on their end. I think they can hear us, but they can’t hear us.”

That was not a good sign. "I'll keep trying to raise them," Sharon promised, sighing as she tried to lock in on their signals. She was silent for a few more minutes while the others focused on trying to do their own objectives. As the minutes ticked by, Sharon reminded herself that Steve, Clint, and Natasha were all incredibly experienced.

They had to be okay. They had to be.

"God dammit, what is going on?" Sharon muttered, more to herself than anything. She'd almost forgot the younger archer was still there until she spoke up.

“EMP?” Kate suggested in a low voice.

It was likely. “Asset H thinks it could be an EMP,” Sharon said. The Avengers would know who she was, but the last thing Sharon wanted to do on a potentially compromised comm system was to say out loud Kate’s name. Sure, HYDRA knew of her, but if Sharon could put any level of protection on Kate, she would. Clint would thank her for it later.

“Makes sense,” Tony said grimly. There was a pause, and Sharon glanced up where a roof slid open and a quinjet rose out of it. “Thor, I thought we took down the hangar?”

“I did, it was my first target-“ Thor sped past Tony, trying to make it to the quinjet. “It looks as though it’s fleeing.”

The quinjet rose from the hidden hangar, and instead of turning towards freedom, it turned to the mountain behind the base. Sharon realized a second later what, exactly, it was going to do. She could barely get out a word before it took off. The quinjet gained speed and flew into the rocks above the base – just where Clint, Natasha, and Steve would have made their entrance. The explosion was loud enough that Sharon winced over the comms.

“Holy shit!” Kate yelped, her eyes widening as she watched the screen.

Snow and rock tumbled down the mountain, heading straight onto Gehenna. The entrance that their three invaders took was buried in seconds, and Sharon could see parts of the building completely collapsing. “They’re trying to bury the base, we need to get a hold of-“

Her words were interrupted by another bang, and Tony’s point of view shifted to the other direction. On the opposite end of the base, an explosion burst out – one of their own, Sharon realized, judging by the power of the blast.

“Oh god,” she heard Tony say over the intercom. “13, where are they?!”

“I’m trying, Iron Man,” Sharon snapped, gritting her teeth as she focused on life signs. “I’ve got life signs for all three right now,” she reported. “All three are strong, but their comms are down, there must be something inside the building blocking them. Anyone see Hulk?” She couldn’t see him, and there hadn’t been any roaring for a few minutes.

“He was near the avalanche,” Thor reported. “I’ll head there now and find him.”

“Go,” Sharon ordered. She looked back over towards a pale-faced Kate. “I need you looking at the base plans, there’s underground tunnels in it, find one far away from both explosions.”

Kate moved in an instant, heading towards the table on the far side of the room. The girl kept her head in a crisis at least. Because this had turned into something beyond a crisis – this was a nightmare.

They’d known it was a trap, and they’d decided they had to spring it. But Sharon now wondered if that cost was too high.

She took a deep breath. The base was collapsed on either end. There were three Avengers inside that base and one potentially buried in an avalanche. Status unknown. But all three of the Avengers inside could take care of themselves, and if the Hulk didn’t die from falling from a Helicarrier, he wouldn’t die from an avalanche.

“Iron Man,” Sharon said, her voice surprisingly steady. “We have to get in that base. Now.”

“I know,” Tony replied. His point of view camera showed him heading directly towards the base, his repulsers powering up a blast strong enough to bring in the roof, to make his own front door. “We’re not leaving a man behind.”

No, they wouldn’t. Dead or alive, they would bring them home – but in one of the most helpless moments of Sharon’s life, as she watched the life signs of Clint, Natasha, and Steve, she prayed she would not see one fall into a flat line.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers fight to survive. Clint decides to blow things up. Sharon encourages under-age drinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who updated in a reasonable amount of time! It's a miracle!

**January 2015 – Gehenna Base, New Zealand**

It had started out easy. That should have been the first clue that something was going to go horribly wrong on this mission.

Natasha saying, “We need to split up” should have been the second clue.

Clint wasn’t a superstitious man. He truly wasn’t. He was a practical guy at heart, the byproduct of being raised on a farm, in a circus of crime, and then working as an operative for a top-secret spy organization. But even he knew that splitting up was the cue for the monster to start taking them out one by one. And this base was full of monsters.

“We sure that’s a good idea?” the archer asked as he kept his bow ready. They’d only taken down a few guards so far. Most of the resistance was focused on the outside. Thor had taken out most of it by electrocuting and collapsing their hangar.

“I can get more intel alone than I can running around with you two,” Natasha pointed out. She fired a shot, and a guard went down from behind Steve. “No offense.”

“I’m just saying, this mission is already enough of a risk. We separate and something goes wrong for one of us, we’re gonna be in a lot deeper shit.”

“Sometimes we have to take that risk.” Natasha glanced over at their fearless leader. “Cap, what do you think?”

Steve looked at the ceiling, clearly as thrilled to be brought into a disagreement between the long-time partners as either of them would be. “It’s a risk, but we’re in here already. We each have a job to do, and if we separate now, we can get in and out of here faster. Nat, get the intel. Clint, set this place to blow.”

Natasha nodded, moving to another hall and looking back to her partner. “Relax, Hawkeye. I’ll buy us dinner from Manfredi’s when we’re done with this.” She disappeared around a corner with a flip of her red hair.

“Like she wasn’t already buying me Manfredi’s, she said she wanted it last night,” Clint muttered, rolling his eyes.

“I’m going to stay out of any couples quarrels for my own safety.” Steve squeezed his shoulder. “Stay in contact, Barton. Stay safe.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

Steve jogged down another hallway, and Clint moved down a third a moment later. Splitting up had been more or less implied in the plans considering that they each had a separate goal, but it didn’t mean that he hated the fact that Natasha had said it out loud. That was practically asking the universe to make something go wrong.

There were six points for these tiny explosives Clint carried. Tony might have steered Stark Industries away from war profiteering, but he still knew how to make a bomb. And he’d made a number of them, no bigger than a pool ball each, and more than strong enough to cause some chaos on the base and cause enough structural damage that HYDRA would never be able to recover this base.

Setting up the first one was easy. So were the next few. By the time he was getting to the fifth set up, Clint was completely on edge. He hadn’t run into one guard since he’d started setting up these explosives. He’d heard from Cap and Natasha several times, along with those on the outside, but he hadn’t encountered a single member of HYDRA.

And then the comms sputtered, and everything went silent for a second.

“Guys?” Clint asked, pausing in a hidden alcove, tapping his comm. “This is Hawkeye, anyone read me?”

Carter and Stark and Thor were talking, and he listened carefully. Something had gone wrong. They couldn’t hear any of them. Clint could still hear those above, and he could hear Sharon back in the Tower, but they couldn’t hear him.

More importantly, Clint realized with a jolt, he couldn’t hear Steve or Natasha. The ones in the base had been completely cut off from each other, which might have been the entire point.

“Jesus Christ,” Clint muttered as he hurried along to the fifth site. He pulled out the next explosive and set it up as quickly as he could. “Let’s split up, guys, in what is a very obvious trap, guys, I’ll buy you pizza, Clint, just split up so HYDRA can pick us up one by one. I’m gonna kill her if we get outta this…”

Five out of sex bombs were now set up, rigged to blow. One more and he could go off and find Natasha and Steve and pull both of them out of there, and then they could all go home and be glad that they had managed to survive their first mission as a time.

He made it to the room they’d marked for the last explosive, and he immediately found himself in a fight for his life.

A knife dove towards his face the instant he stepped inside. Clint’s finely honed instincts were the only thing that stopped him from being stabbed in the cheek, and he swung his bow with every bit of strength he had. He saw a flash of red hair move into a dodging dive, and for a moment, he briefly though it might have been Natasha – and then remembered who Sharon and Steve had warned might very well be in this base.

“Schmidt is in play, repeat, Schmidt is in play!” Clint yelled over the comms, praying that something had changed and that someone, anyone, could hear him. But he knew that if this was an EMP like Kate had thought, he wasn’t going to be that lucky.

Clint moved to put space between himself and Schmidt. “I don’t think we’ve met yet.”

Schmidt barked out a laugh, twirling a knife in her hand. “What commendable manners, Barton.”

“Yeah, everyone’s always surprised.” Clint grabbed and arrow and shot it without a warning.

Schmidt dove but it did slice her shoulder through the green Kevlar of her armor, and he did get a tiny bit of satisfaction from that. But she moved a moment later, and Clint rolled back. He could handle hand to hand fine, but from what he’d heard from Cap, Thea Schmidt could take him on very well – and Clint had been handed his ass by Steve more than once.

Clint barely dodged a knife aimed at his face. He grunted as he hit the back well, diving into a roll to try and put some distance between them. Schmidt saw the move coming and dove at him as well, and Clint grunted when his bow flickered out of the way, out of his grasp.

Schmidt straddled his chest and threw a punch directly at his throat. With her other hand, she grabbed his hair and slammed his head down.

She was thorough, Clint could give her that. Stars exploded in front of his eyes, and he coughed as he struggled to catch his breath.

“It’s been fun, Agent Barton,” Thea remarked, her voice casual. She sounded a dozen miles away. The redhead pulled a smaller knife from her belt, one that looked sharp enough to cut through bone. “I’m sure you’ll have a nice funeral.”

She went straight for his throat.

* * *

Everything went wrong in a matter of minutes.

Gehenna was isolated; no one thought there was a chance of prisoners, but up until Thor and Tony had sunk a HYDRA vessel in a Greek caldera, no one thought HYDRA might hide prisoners on a converted cargo ship. They couldn’t risk leaving any enhanced individuals in HYDRA captivity, and Steve was the quickest on his feet, had been in the most HYDRA bases from the war and from his hunt for Bucky. He knew how layouts typically were.

He also knew the moment that the trap hadn’t been just for the Avengers – one had been for him in particular.

Steve bolted back in the direction where he’d left Clint and Natasha. “Guys, we need to abort,” he ordered. It was a useless action – he knew damned well from earlier that no one could hear him. They were on their own, and Steve had to find the others before it was too late.

Somehow, this was turning out even worse than Steve dared to dread.

And then, as if fate had decided to make him into more of a joke, circumstances went even worse for Steve Rogers.

A clear wall dropped in front of him. Steve skidded to a stop, turning in an instant to try and go back. Another clear wall blocked him off, leaving him caged, stone walls on two sides, clear barriers on the others.

“Shit,” Steve muttered.

Comms were down. Natasha and Clint were somewhere in this base, and he didn’t know if they were dead or alive. He was now trapped between two stone walls and two he knew would not be something as easily breakable as plastic or glass. HYDRA set the trap they knew that it was – and now, Steve had fallen into the trap meant for him.

“Captain Rogers.”

Steve turned to the voice, his blue eyes narrowed. He kept his posture strong, his eyes hard. A man walked down the corridor alone. He was an older man with close-shaven dark hair. His right eye was covered with a monocle, and Steve’s eyes flickered to the silver HYDRA symbol pinned to his chest.

With a jolt, Steve realized exactly who it might be. They’d wondered who might rise as a head of HYDRA after Pierce’s death. He was about to get answers they needed – but he knew there would be a price to pay for answers.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Baron von Strucker.” The monocle man gave a smile that chilled even Steve’s spine. “I’m glad to finally meet you. We have much to discuss.”

* * *

The knife went for Clint’s throat, and someone bodily tackled Schmidt the second before she sliced it wide open.

For a moment, he thought he was imagining it. But nope, it was his forever knight in black spandex and Kevlar, always ready to come and save his ass. He was going to need to buy her something nice after this. Maybe after his ears stopped ringing.

Red hair mixed together as they rolled in their tackle, putting space between Schmidt and Clint. When they stopped rolling, Natasha punched Schmidt right in the face. Clint heard the clear crack of a breaking nose. Schmidt responded with a knee to Natasha’s back, knocking the Black Widow off her.

Natasha was up and away the strongest fighter that Clint knew. But Schmidt had pure brutality and part of a super soldier serum behind her, and he didn’t know how long Natasha was going to last.

At the very least, Clint took the chance to move back to his feet, getting his head back on his head. He could worry about a concussion later. Right now, he and Natasha were not going to get out of a fight with Schmidt alive. Cap was potentially in danger. They had to get out of there.

It was then that Clint heard a distant rumbling. He frowned, looking in the direction. It took a moment for him to realize what it was – avalanche. They were on the far side of the base, from the mountains, but knowing their luck, the avalanche could send the entire base down the slope of the mountain and kill them all.

Schmidt and Natasha both seemed to hear it, but both ignored it in favor of continuing their fight. They were evenly matched, but they were both going go for any advantage they could get. And Schmidt found that advantage when Natasha had to take a second to correct her stance on uneven ground, throwing into the fight with everything she had.

Natasha would fight to the death. Clint wasn’t in the shape for a fight like this. The only option was to disengage and get out. He forced himself a bit back, biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood when his head spun again.

As Natasha took a heavy blow to her stomach, sending her tumbling backwards, Clint had a brilliant and absolutely awful idea. Natasha would kill him for it, and that was the exact reason why he knew it would work.

“Nat, move!” Clint bellowed. He pulled the remote control for the explosives from his belt, and threw the sixth explosive right towards Natasha and Schmidt. “Now!”

Natasha glanced up as she heard his shout, realizing a second later what he was doing. She kicked at Schmidt, hitting her center abdomen and sending her rolling back. Nat scrambled back, grabbing onto Clint when the bomb landed right near where she and Schmidt had been. Clint pulled them back into the hallway, behind another doorway, trying to put whatever cover they could between it. He saw a flash of red hair as Schmidt moved in the other directly, trying to put distance between herself and the bomb.

The bomb exploded, and everything went black for a split second.

His ears were ringing when everything went still, and Clint heard Natasha cough next to him. The cough was muffled, and there were rocks on top of them, but not the entire ceiling – just chunks big enough they would both be bruised the next day.

“That worked,” Clint remarked, blinking as he waved some of the dust away.

“You absolute fucking idiot.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“You almost blew us up.”

“But I didn’t.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t. Are you alright?” Clint coughed, waving away some of the smoke. He couldn’t hear out of his right ear, the closest to the bomb, and he tugged the now broken hearing aid out before sliding it into his pocket. He didn’t want HYDRA to get even a piece of technology from them. Stark had designed those hearing aids, for all he knew they could be reversed engineered into a nuclear bomb. He wouldn’t put it past Stark.

“Gonna have a few bruises, but nothing bad.” Natasha took a gun from her belt, clicking off the safety and peering around the corner. Half the room they’d been in was destroyed, piles of rubble and rock everywhere – and there was absolutely no sign of Schmidt.

“Do you think we got lucky and she’s buried?” Clint wondered, gritting his teeth as he wiped a bit of dirt off his face. He moved carefully to his feet, picking up his bow from the ground. It was miraculously still functional, no damage other than cosmetic.

Natasha snorted and moved up to her feet. “Did we get lucky in Budapest?”

“…we got out alive, I consider that lucky.”

“You’re not wrong, but with her, we’re not going to be.” She moved her arm, and a hiss of pain snuck out of her. Clint moved behind her in a second and helped to move her shoulder into place. She didn’t give any indication of the pain, though his well-trained eye caught the slightest hint of a wince.

“We have to keep moving,” Natasha mentioned. “We’ve still got one man in here.”

Clint took a deep breath, nodding. “We’re not leaving without him,” he said quietly.

“Absolutely not.” She tested her widow’s bites, and Clint watched the electricity surge briefly. “Let’s go save our fearless leader, shall we?”

“Lead the way, beautiful.” He turned and followed her back into the fray, letting himself hope that they could salvage the nightmare this had become.

* * *

To date, most of the terrifying, stop his heart moments in Steve’s life had been during the war.

Breathing through claustrophobia as the pod of Operation Rebirth closed in around him. Finding out Bucky might have been killed in action in Azzano. Reaching out for Bucky’s hand on that train and watching him fall to his apparent death. Realizing that in order to save millions of lives, he had to sacrifice his own. Freezing to what he thought was his death, but knowing he hadn’t had another choice.

He didn’t know what it was, but something about this confrontation brought him the chill to his spine that all of those other moments did.

This man was not the Red Skull. The Skull had been almost pure evil. There’d been an impulse to him, something primal screaming that he was dangerous, that he could shake your hand or shoot you in the head. There’d been no illusions that the Skull was evil, the most pure and simple example of an enemy.

There was something different about Baron von Strucker. And Steve realized how, exactly, HYDRA had managed to survive as long as they had.

“I apologize for the runaround,” the Baron mentioned as he stepped forward. He seemed to be alone. That either meant he was a capable physical threat or there were guards hidden somewhere. Or the bastard was just that arrogant. “But I doubted you would stop by a restaurant and speak with me.”

“Good call.” Steve’s voice was hard, and he lifted his chin. “I have nothing to say to you. Whatever you have to say, I’d suggest you get it out before we take down this base completely.”

“I’m more than willing to sacrifice this base, Captain.” He tilted his chin as he studied Steve, and then smiled again, too casually, the malice clear underneath his expression. “I’m just wondering what the Avengers are willing to sacrifice in this war. Or rather, who.”

Steve’s jaw twitched as he ground his teeth. The implication behind his words was clear enough. HYDRA knew that the Avengers had people that they needed to protect. They knew that there were lines they would not cross, people they would not sacrifice. They were on the defensive, even now, and Steve knew that if he wanted them to stand a chance, he had to show himself as strong, as the leader the Avengers needed.

He had to be Captain America. And despite his doubts, Steve knew that he could be the leader the Avengers needed at this moment.

Baron smiled again. “You see, Captain, we in HYDRA believe in legacies. When we pass our legacy along to our children, we are more than willing to have them become sacrifices. Are the Avengers?”

 _Our children_. Steve kept his face blank. Sharon mentioned once that people spoke deliberately, whether they realized it or not. The Red Skull had his progeny. HYDRA was obsessed with legacies, with bloodlines. Judging from his words, this Baron had children of his own – and they were likely high up in HYDRA.

“You know, I think that’s something that separates us,” Steve said. He kept his shield held tightly. It brought a bit of comfort, but the brief moment of fear was gone, replaced by ice cold anger. “The fact that we have morals.”

“Morals, lines you will not cross – perhaps that is why HYDRA has survived the uprising and your SHIELD barely escaped its own grave.”

Steve kept his face blank. He could not give a single indication about the status of SHIELD. Bucky’s safety was at risk enough as a SHIELD asset down with Coulson. If HYDRA realized that the Winter Soldier was working with the remnants of SHIELD, they would be after them faster than Steve could blink. They might not survive it.

He would die before he gave HYDRA any chance to retake Bucky. The only option left was to play this game for now, try to distract von Strucker.

“SHIELD, maybe not. The Avengers?” Steve gave a droll smile and gestured up when he heard what very much sounded like electricity coming from the skies above. Thor always dead provide a dramatic edge at the best possible moment. “We’re clearly not dead.”

That drew a genuine laugh out of the Baron to Steve’s surprise. “Very clearly, Captain. You are all difficult to kill. I can respect that.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I can’t return that.” Steve shook his head as he looked back over. “What exactly do you want, Strucker?”

The omission of _von_ clearly bothered him, but HYDRA’s head pressed on. “I wanted to give you a warning.” The Baron stepped forward so that they were face to face, that clear wall separating them. If it wasn’t there, Steve could have hit the bastard with his shield and taken him into custody in a second.

“Should the Avengers continue this war, we will show no mercy. We will not take into account innocents or civilians. If they are connected to you, they are a target. Two of your teammates are fathers now. They have far, far more to lose.”

Steve lashed out despite himself, slamming the shield into the clear wall. The Baron only smiled, relishing the reaction he had gotten. Steve’s reaction would have been mild compared to any response from Thor and Tony towards their children being threatened.

“And I know you have your own loved ones, Captain Rogers. Your own friends. Sergeant Wilson, Agent Carter…” The smile curled into something colder, crueler. “And of course, the Winter Soldier. Sergeant Barnes.” Steve gave no reaction, though his heart almost stopped at the outright threats to his friends. “We know he’s alive. We know he’s out there. And make no mistake – we will find him.”

“Before or after he puts a bullet in your head?” Steve sniped despite himself.

“Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. And there are far many more heads now than there were a few decades ago.” A device on the Baron’s wrist blinked, and he scoffed slightly. “Yes, I believe this is my time to go.”

An explosion roared out seconds later. Steve realized it had to be a quinjet or some other aircraft exploding. The next noise that came was a growing roar. Back in the war, the Commandos had barely avoided an avalanche, and Steve wished that he didn’t recognize that approaching wall of death and ice.

A few moments later, Steve heard an explosion across the base. He looked in its direction, his eyes widening when he realized it had to be one of the bombs Tony designed, the ones Clint had been planting everywhere. He was blind, trapped, and Steve glared across when the Baron started to walk away.

This mission was going to hell in a handbasket, faster than he could manage. He only prayed that the others were okay, because he was trapped like a rat without a way out, at the mercy of a psychopath. But this would not be how he died today.

“You’re not going to win,” Steve pointed out. “You asked if we’re willing to sacrifice? We are. But we’re going to win this with our morals intact. I promise you that.”

“I wish you luck, Captain America.” The Baron gave a small remote from his pocket. “I doubt very much that this will kill you. You’re far too strong for it. But it will give me time to return home.” His eyes flickered to Steve, and Steve met the glare with every bit of fire in his belly. “I’m sure we’ll meet again soon. I hope to reach the rest of the Avengers soon enough.”

Baron von Strucker pressed down on the remote, and Steve heard a slight hissing sound on all four corners of the makeshift cell. “Let the games begin, Captain Rogers. May the best man win.”

Steve moved, slamming the shield against the clear wall in an attempt to get to him. Of course, it failed, and the super soldier watched as the Avengers’ new greatest threat walked away. He punched out at the wall, giving a frustrated yell, and it didn’t even crack.

That was when he noticed the pale green gas starting to billow around him. A bit snuck into his next breath, and he immediately started coughing, his lungs burning. The gas kept piling in, from unseen entrances in the nooks and crannies of the room.

He had to get out of there. He had to get out of here before the gas killed him. He had to find Natasha and Clint before Thea Schmidt did. The three of them had to escape before it was too late. They had to survive.

They had to survive so that they could ensure the survival of the Avengers’ loved ones. Erik Foster. Morgan Potts-Stark. Everyone the other Avengers loved – and the ones that Steve cared for, his friends and loved ones.

Sam. Bucky. Sharon.

Steve was nothing if not a survivor. And this would not be the day he died – and he would not fail the people that he loved.

Steve took a deep breath just before the gas completely overtook him, readjusted the shield, and charged at the stone wall.

* * *

As it turned out, finding Steve wasn’t as bad as it could have been – especially considering that he literally rammed into the hallway in front of them.

Natasha and Clint had made it through about five hallways before they heard a distant yell. Natasha grabbed onto his arm, her eyes narrowing slightly before she heard something charging towards them. “Move!”

The two ducked back, and the stone wall to their right collapsed from the other side. A rushing form stumbled through it, gasping for air and trying to stop from crashing into the next wall. He managed to stop in the middle, and Clint caught a glimpse of a metal shield and realized that Steve had managed to make their job just a little bit easier. Now they just had to get out of there.

“Jesus, Cap!” Clint’s eyes widened when he saw green gas slowly moving in behind him. “What the hell is going on!”

“Don’t breathe it in!” Steve barked out. He pushed Clint back. “Get away from it!”

He stumbled, and Natasha grabbed his arm, pulling him forward and away from the gas. Clint covered their backs as they went through another hallway. The gas could only go so far apparently, and Clint shoved a door shut behind him to try and keep any bit from hitting them.

Steve’s eyes were bloodshot, and he was unsteady on his feet, but he was alive. “You’re both okay?” he croaked, coughing heavily. He slumped against the wall. Clint swore he could see blood on his lips for a moment.

“Yeah, we’re fine. You?” Natasha demanded, helping to steady Steve as she looked him over for any other injuries.

“I’m good.” Steve took a deep breath, tugging off his helmet and tossing it to the side. He was bleeding at his temple, presumably from where he’d literally charged through the stone wall, and his voice was rough, but he was still standing. “Got to meet a head of HYDRA.”

“You’re serious?” Clint demanded, shooting a look back to where they’d come in this base. “He stayed at a base he knew we were going to raid? Why?”

“Because he’s an arrogant, cold-blooded bastard, and he wanted to make a point.” Steve grit his teeth, trying to ignore the burning in his lungs. “We don’t have time right now. We need to get out of here. My comms are down.”

“So are ours.” Clint glanced back towards the hallway, keeping an ear out. Or, rather, the last remaining ear that he had. He had to make sure to turn towards them on that side so he could hear what they are saying.

It was at that exact moment that the ceiling next to them collapsed. Despite the fact that he was clearly in pain, Steve grabbed his shield and moved into a defensive position. Natasha had one gun out and one Widow’s bite charged in a second. Clint had an arrow nocked and ready to fire in a heartbeat. Even in pain, their reaction times were at the top of the chart.

From the hole in the ceiling came a red and gold form, and it took all three only a second to realize exactly what dramatic human being had come to their rescue.

“Jesus Christ, Stark, give us a warning next time,” Natasha grumbled, low enough that Tony couldn’t hear. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Tony’s attitude at the moment.

“Found them!” Tony exclaimed, landing in front of the three. His helmet slid up, and Steve was surprised at the open relief on his face. “Repeat, I’ve got them, I’ve got Widow, Hawkeye, and Cap. They’re okay. Cap’s bleeding.”

“Flesh wound,” Steve promised. He tried to hold back the cough that came, but Tony noticed it, judging by the look on his face. He tugged a hand through his dirt and sweat-soaked hair. “I’m okay. Thor and Hulk?”

“Hulk got a bit of snow in his shoes, but he’s fine. Thor found him and he’s calming him down now. We need to figure out something for that.” At least the avalanche hadn’t done as much damage to the team as it could have. Tony looked back at the other two. “Explosives ready?”

“Five out of six of them,” Natasha confirmed. “We had to use the sixth one to get Schmidt away from us.”

“Wait, Schmidt was here?” Steve demanded, turning towards Natasha. He coughed again.

“Yeah, focus on that later, Cap,” Tony warned. “Five out of six is more than enough. The avalanche caused extra damage it wouldn’t have had otherwise. Ready to set them off, Barton?”

Clint held up the trigger. “Let’s blow this place to hell.”

In ten minutes, the entire team was on the quinjet, heading back to New York. Steve made a point of standing in the front of the quinjet and watched the blow up through the windshield, feeling a bit of satisfaction. He ground his teeth when he saw a HYDRA jet taking off in the opposite direction, too fast for them to reach.

“Twelve bucks that Schmidt and that Baron are on that jet,” Tony said, his voice making it clear that it was an absolute sucker bet.

“What, take it and make you even richer than you already are?” Clint wondered, glancing back at him. “No way they stayed in that base without a way to get out fast.”

Steve took another deep breath, coughing slightly. “We’ll see them again soon.” He looked back at Natasha. “You get what we need?”

There was a playful smirk on Natasha’s face as she held up not one, but two little zip drives. “You know, with some computers, even if you erase their memories… there’s a way to bring it back. They gave us a lot more than they were planning.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “Is that what kept you from saving my ass?”

“Someone has to be the professional among us.”

“Excellent,” Thor laughed. He patted Natasha’s shoulder fondly, and she winced slightly. Steve realized in that moment that if she wasn’t hiding her pain in front of them, then she trusted them. Steve knew her well enough to realize how big that was. “We did well, my friends.”

“Yeah, I didn’t die in a pile of snow,” Bruce muttered from where he sat in a corner of the jet, a heavy blanket around his shoulders.

“I dug you out in plenty of time!” Thor protested. “The roars helped to find you.”

“Yeah, well, someone note that the Big Guy doesn’t like the cold.”

“Noted, Doctor Banner,” JARVIS’s voice came out. “I will forward the information to Agents Carter and Hill.”

Bruce sighed and tugged his blanket around him. Steve coughed again, harder. “Steve, you need to get on an oxygen tank, just in case,” Bruce warned. He kept the blanket around his shoulders as he moved to the medical wall of the quinjet. “Just do it so that we don’t freak out the others when we get back. We don’t know what was in that gas”

“Strucker said outright that it wasn’t going to kill me, I’m fine-“ Steve saw five identical looks, and he decided that this was one battle that he didn’t want to pick. He was too tired for that. “Fine, fine, give me the oxygen mask. We got an ETA?”

“Five hours. HQ already knows, they’ll be waiting for us on the landing pad.” Clint leaned back in his seat. “We did that, right? We just kicked ass and didn’t die on our first Avengers mission.”

Tony tossed a granola bar his way from the little snack basket in the far corner of the room. He passed one to each team member, and Steve made sure that he swallowed down one before he put on the oxygen mask Bruce provided. Steve couldn’t remember who had insisted on it. Probably Sharon, she knew how much Steve alone ate, let alone Thor.

“We did it,” Steve said. He put the mask on his face, and looked at the others. “Nice job, team.”

There was a brief moment of silence between them. They’d done it. They’d finished the mission. They’d survived finished the mission. They had gotten intel. They had blown up Gehenna. And they’d even gotten intel about who was running HYDRA now. It’d gone better than anyone could have hoped, despite the bumps in the road.

They could all feel proud, for a slight moment, for the victory they’d fought hard to get.

One member of their team, of course, moved to try and take advantage of it. “So, we can celebrate by going to the gala,” Tony pointed out. “It’ll be fun! I’ll get hotel rooms for everyone, it’s an open bar, free food…”

There were groans across the quinjet. “Tony, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Bruce protested.

“Bruce, I promise, I made sure that anyone who might want to dissect you is off the guest list,” Tony promised, moving to look at the others. “And if all of us are here, it’ll be a good night.”

Natasha took a bite of her granola bar. “I already promised Pepper I would go. C’mon, Clint, it’ll be fun.”

The archer looked to the ceiling, debating if this was going to be worth an argument with Natasha. Apparently, the promise of an open bar, free food, and a hotel room was enough for him to relent. “Fine, I’ll go,” Clint said, rolling his eyes. “It’d better be a nice hotel room, Stark.”

“Jane has been saying that we need our first date night since Erik’s birth.” Thor was clearly hesitant despite the tentative agreement. “I will speak to her.”

“Willow will be more than willing to watch the little guy too. Trust me, she’s gotten through background checks that would put the White House to shame. Plus we can put her and the kids up in a room at the hotel so you can get Erik back after the party.” Tony looked to the last hold outs, the super solider and the scientist. “It’ll be a victory celebration.”

Steve gave an exhausted sigh before looking back at Bruce. “You know he’ll never let it go.”

“I know.” Bruce looked up at the ceiling of the quinjet as if praying for patience. “Got to pick our battles, right?”

“Especially when it comes to galas, apparently.” Steve looked back over. “We’ll all good. Are you happy now?”

“Giddy.” Tony tugged back on his headset before saying, “JARVIS, tell Carter and Hill and everyone there that we’re on the way, and that we’re all going to the gala. Tell Faith to make sure we’re all seated by each other. Put Sharon near the volatile ones.”

“Who counts as volatile?” Natasha wondered.

“Oh, you want to go through the list?”

As the banter started, Steve let himself close his eyes and be grateful they’d made it out of this alive.

* * *

**January 2015 – Avengers Tower, New York**

As soon as the team was in the air, Sharon turned off the comm system, tossed her earpiece to the table, and managed to keep herself from collapsing as she sat down.

“Holy shit,” Sharon whispered. Her face felt cold, and her hands shook as the adrenaline died down. The team was alive. All six of them had gotten out alive, and they’d gotten even more than they’d wanted in terms of intel, despite the risk.

“They’re all alive.”

Sharon nodded. “Yeah. They’re all alive.” She tugged her phone out of her purse and texted Jane and Pepper in an instant, letting them know that they were on their way home, that they were okay.

“Who are you texting?” Kate asked.

“Pepper and Jane. I… I can’t imagine what it’s like to be either of them right now. And I promised I’d tell them as soon as we knew they were on the way home.” Back in SHIELD, she didn’t know the spouses and partners of most of her coworkers. This was going to be harder to adjust to.

“I didn’t even think how bad it would be for them.” Kate sat on the floor, her back to the wall. “I think it’s worse to be on this side,” she admitted quietly. “Hearing them and not being able to do anything.”

Sharon didn’t reply. She moved to her feet and moved to her purse. She tugged a flask out of it. It was an old Clay Quartermain tradition – take a drink after a successful mission. She didn’t care if Kate wasn’t twenty just yet, the girl had kept her head clear while a mission had gone straight to hell. Besides, Clint wouldn’t have gotten her a fake ID showing her as over 21 if he cared that much. If this girl was old enough to assault a gulag, she was old enough to drink whiskey.

The blonde silently took a swig of the flask, moving across the room. She plopped down next to Kate, leaving her high heels on the floor behind her. She handed it to Kate, who took it and sipped it without hesitation.

“It is,” Sharon confirmed quietly. “I’ve done a mix of field and mission control missions. It’s always harder to listen to people you know fighting for their lives.”

“Does it get easier?” Kate asked. She took another sip from the flask before handing it over.

She took another sip from the flask. “No. You just get used to it.”

The brunette looked back at her. “I told Clint I want in this life,” she said. “I told him I want to be an Avenger. I still do.” She glanced towards the inactive life signs of the Avengers, her eyes flickering to Clint and Natasha’s. “I don’t think I’m cut out for mission control.”

Sharon laughed. “Don’t worry. Clint’s awful at mission control. You’re his protégé, that makes sense.”

“Yay, I take after him in even more ways.”

“You’re the one who wants to be Hawkeye, Bishop.”

“Crazy me, right?”

The blonde smiled. She moved to her feet before offering her hand. Kate took it, and Sharon pulled her to her feet. This girl had been through a lot over the last year. But Clint always had an eye for talent, and Sharon understood very well what he saw in Kate. She might be better than all of them someday.

“The way I see it, without crazy people like you and me, the ones who want to run into the fire… the world might be in even more danger.” Sharon winked back down at her. “Just make sure you show Clint up, okay?”

Kate grinned. “Always.” She glanced back at the screen. “I’m gonna go crash in the guest rooms. So I can yell at him in person when he gets back.” She looked back. “Text me when they’re about to land?”

“You know it.” Sharon squeezed her shoulder. “Go and get some rest. I need to do something first.”

When she’d seen Kate to the elevators, she went straight to the conference room, to the Murder Board and the rest of their intel. Sharon released her hair from its ponytail, tugging a hand to control the messy waves. She turned on the lights, her eyes immediately turning to the current mission’s parameters, the intel on Gehenna.

She moved to the center of the room, looking at the picture of the New Zealand base. With a little smile, Sharon waved her hand. The unclear image of Gehenna went black and white, marking it as out of commission.

“One down,” she said simply.

It was only the start of a war. But they’d wrestled a victory out of this, despite the difficulty. They’d won a battle, not the war.

Sometimes, one battle was enough. They’d made their first, opening move. The Avengers were coming home. It was a victory.

They’d won the first battle - now the war could truly begin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team attends a gala. Sharon meets an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is an escape in a crazy world. Sorry for the delay - hope to get the next chapter out sooner. This is the second to last chapter of this arc - and then we head into the first of six arcs that focus on an Avenger each. You should figure out who's first in the next chapter or two.

**January 2015 – Avengers Tower, New York**

It was well past midnight when the quinjet arrived back at the Tower. Sharon raced to the landing pad as soon as she got the notification that landing was imminent.

She texted Jane, Pepper, and Kate on the way. Even if the babies weren’t awake, JARVIS was a good enough watcher to keep an eye on them for a few minutes. From what she understood though, Erik was a night owl of the highest order. Maria, who’d been coordinating with the New Zealand government and sending them intel, joined Sharon in the elevator.

“New Zealand okay with everything?” Sharon asked.

“HYDRA has been kicked out of their country without them losing a single citizen, they’re pretty easy to work with right now,” Maria pointed out as they approached the outside landing area on one of the highest levels. “I’ve got another few phone calls tomorrow, including one with the Prime Minister but NZSIS is speaking highly of us.”

Sharon smiled quietly. “Let’s use that good will while we can,” she said.

“You know I will, 13.”

The two waited at a safe distance, watching as the quinjet landed expertly on the pad. Sharon watched as the ramp lowered slowly, and she glanced back as she heard movement behind her. Jane was in sweats, with a wide-awake Erik on her hip. Kate was barefoot and looked half asleep, but was at least somewhat alert. Sharon glanced at her phone and saw a text from Pepper that Morgan was asleep and she was staying in the penthouse, and that Tony knew.

If Sharon suspected that Pepper staying back had something to do with her complicated feelings towards Tony reforming the Avengers, she would never say a word. Especially not to Tony.

The first one off the quinjet were Thor and Tony. Thor immediately moved to Jane and Erik, the little boy instantly babbling and reaching for his father. The Asgardian kissed his wife immediately, and Sharon averted her gaze to give them at least a little bit of privacy.

Tony’s gaze flickered between them. “Barton and Romanoff are both a little beat up, but they’re alive. Bruce is okay, Hulk took the damage. Steve took in poison gas, he’s on an oxygen tank but alert…”

Maria nodded before glancing back. “JARVIS, alert medical and tell them we’ll need a stretcher.”

“I don’t need a stretcher,” Steve protested as he came down the ramp. He held his own oxygen tank, shield strapped to his back, and had a mask secured to his face. “I’ll fine. Bruce just wanted it on just in case.”

“And now you’re going to get checked out by an actual medical doctor,” Bruce interrupted as he stepped down.

“That gash needs to get look at too,” Maria pointed out, raising a brow at the super soldier.

“It’s a flesh wound and already healed, I’m absolutely fine!”

“We have literally been in the air for about five hours and you’re still coughing, you’re keeping on the oxygen mask,” Natasha snapped as she came down the ramp. Clint was right behind her, and the jet’s ramp rose as the last Avengers came down from it. “Medical bay, now, go. The doctor on duty will clear you.”

“Steve, you need to be checked,” Thor said. The Asgardian turned from his conversation with his wife, his son in his arms. “Your health is important.”

“See, everyone agrees,” Natasha pointed out. “Medical, Steve. Now.”

Sharon hid her smirk at the soldier’s clear scowl behind the oxygen mask. Steve had chosen Natasha as the unofficial second in command for a reason. Sharon couldn’t see Tony arguing him successfully for the medical bay. She _could_ see Thor not bothering to argue and just carrying him, however. She might as well try to save him some of that embarrassment.

“C’mon, Rogers,” Sharon said. “You don’t follow protocol and get checked out, every single one of them will point out when they get injured on a mission and you try to get them to head down to medical.”

The super soldier sighed. “Fine, fine, fine, I’m coming.” He kept the oxygen mask on, and Sharon caught sight of his cowl bunched in the hand holding the oxygen tank. He walked past the group, and Sharon saw the shield against his back again, covered in dust, but the star still visible. Sharon gave a quiet smile as she watched him walk to the elevator as proud as he’d ever been.

“I’ll make sure he actually gets there,” Sharon said simply. She glanced back. “Briefing at noon tomorrow. Everyone get some rest.”

With those final words, Sharon walked briskly to the elevator. Steve was waiting for it, and glanced at her when she arrived. “Here to make sure I go to medical?” he wondered.

“Remember that time when you signed yourself out of a hospital against medical advice days after being stabbed, shot, and falling into a very polluted river? Because I do.”

Steve gave a brief laugh that turned into a talk. “Touché.”

The elevator arrived, and Sharon lead the way inside. The other Avengers were still congregated on the ramp, perhaps giving their leader a bit of alone time with who essentially might be his left-hand woman, perhaps giving him a moment with someone he clearly trusted.

When the doors closed, Steve leaned against the wall, his eyes slipping shut. “Think I’m crashing here tonight,” he admitted. “Brooklyn suddenly feels like a world away.”

“Good thing we have those guest rooms. I’m planning on staying too. No use in getting over there this late only to come back in less than twelve hours.” Sharon looked him over. “I got some of the rundown from Tony on the comms. You met HYDRA’s new head.”

Steve forced his eyes opened, and turned to look back at her. “His name is Wolfgang von Strucker. Apparently, he’s a Baron of sorts, that’s how he introduced himself.” Sharon’s eyes narrowed, and Steve looked at her. “You know who he is?”

“No,” Sharon admitted. “That’s not surprising though. Alexander Pierce hid in plain sight, but not everyone in HYDRA would have done the same. Some would have stuck to the shadows, in case something like this happened. Whitehall hid so well that no one realized that he was Reinhardt.”

The super soldier sighed. “Guess driving one snake out of the grass is better than none.”

She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Everyone got out alive,” she said simply. “You took down a base. And we could the upper hand and got intel they did not want us to have. That is far, far better than nothing.”

Sharon Carter was a logical, practical woman. And the fact that she was this optimistic about the outcome of this mission helped a lot. “We’ve got a long way to go,” Steve admitted. “But this… this wasn’t a bad start.”

“Not at all.” The elevator doors opened, and Sharon nudged his arm. “C’mon. Let’s get you checked out. Then… tomorrow, we keep going.”

Steve watched her walk out, took a deep breath, and followed, feeling at least a bit better about this mission. The burning in his lungs would go away – and he would still be standing for the next fight.

* * *

**January 2015 – Von Strucker Estate, Germany**

“He never should have sent me away.”

“Father would never risk you in something like this, you and I both know that.”

“The Avengers need to know who they truly face.”

“Father is making sure of that.”

A pause, and Andrea let herself believe that her brother might have actually shut up. She should have known better. “They’re taking a while to come back.”

“Otto, they were in New Zealand, not Paris. It takes time to get from there to Germany.” Andrea rolled her eyes where she sat on a lounge chair.

This was one of the smaller dens of their home, with an oaken bar on the far end of the room, bookshelves everywhere, antique furniture decorating every bit of it. It’d always been one of her favorite places. She’d spent hours of her childhood reading in the lounge, and often found her father watching her with a fond smile in the doorway.

Andrea’s gaze flickered to her own child. Miranda was on her belly, frowning in concentration as she played with a few toys. She was safe and content in her playpen, and as wary as Andrea was in letting Otto too close to her daughter, she knew that he would not risk anything – especially not when their father expressed his acceptance of his youngest grandchild.

That was an advantage Andrea would hold as long as she could.

“You think we got lucky and she died?” Otto wondered as he passed in front of his sister and headed straight to the bar.

“You mean do you think _you_ got lucky and she died?” Andrea clarified as she turned a page of the book in her hands. “Not a chance, brother. She’ll outlive you from spite alone.”

Otto barked out a laugh. “Not if I kill her first.” Andrea watched as her twin poured himself a drink from the bar. She shook her head when Otto held up the bottle.

“Isn’t that Father’s good ale?” she asked with a frown.

“I’ll buy another and he’ll never notice.” Otto’s clear annoyance at Thea’s likely survival, along with her sisterly nagging, still gave her a bit of joy, even so long past childhood.

“Father always notices.” Otto was just too stupid to realize that their father noticed everything – even if he didn’t bring it up to his eldest child. “How is Sophia doing?” she asked, eager to change the subject. “And the rest of the Malicks, of course.”

“They’re well.” There was a genuine warmness to Otto’s voice. “Gideon’s safe, there’s no indication that he’s been caught in the fallout. He’s still well-regarded and has plenty of business connections to use in the meantime. And Stephanie is doing well. Just bought a new Arabian colt. She asked about you last time I was there.”

Aiden’s existence had been forced on Otto and Thea by the Baron, to help ensure the line of succession in HYDRA. The Malicks, though, were Otto’s family by choice. Otto might love himself above everyone, but he did care deeply for Stephanie – and for their daughter. And Gideon Malick was smart enough to realize just how to manipulate Otto, with the fatherly affection and gentle approval Wolfgang von Strucker would never provide.

“You’ll have to visit soon, see how Sophia is growing,” Otto mentioned, gesturing at his niece. “And it would be nice for Sophia to meet her little cousin.”

“We’ll have to find a time.” Andrea smiled softly as she watched her daughter. Miranda was growing up. Sophia and Aiden were too. It wasn’t just their own futures at stake with this war against the Avengers – it was their children’s as well. That was something becoming sharply clear, more every day.

“Of course.” Otto finished the last of his drink and glanced up when he heard footsteps approaching.

Melanie, Andrea’s long-time friend and the typical nanny to both Miranda and Aiden, hurried into the room. “They’re landing now,” she reported. “You wanted to be told immediately…”

Andrea put her book down immediately, not bothering to mark where she was. Otto was already hurrying past Melanie and down the hall to the back doors of the estate. The back lawn had a dedicated helicopter pad, large enough to land a HYDRA quinjet on. Andrea stopped to pick up Miranda, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s cheek.

“Get her to bed, I’ll be up to check on her later,” Andrea ordered simply, handing her little girl off to Melanie. The younger woman nodded, and the only daughter of Baron von Strucker hurried after her brother.

The quinjet had already landed by the time that Andrea made it to the landing pad. Otto waited, his blond hair rustling in the wind. Andrea caught sight of light coming from what served as their mother’s room on the estate. She wouldn’t come down – their marriage survived out of convenience, and there was no love lost between the two. Alexandra Werner would mourn her loss of status more than anything else.

“I see red hair,” Andrea remarked when the quinjet landed and a light flashed on inside.

“Dammit, she lives.” Otto scowled deeply. “Maybe next time.”

She rolled her eyes at her brother and stepped forward before he could as the ramp lowered. Thea was the first one off, storming and clearly beyond enraged. A black eye was blooming nicely on her face, and Andrea caught the open glee on Otto’s face.

“What happened?” Andrea demanded.

“They got far more intel than we wanted,” Thea spat out. Besides the black eye, there was also a deep cut on her forehead. It would likely scar. “And we lost plenty of men.”

“What we wanted to remain hidden was kept secret,” the Baron pointed out as he walked down the ramp himself. He looked far calmer than the mother of his grandson, and amusement tilted up the corners of his mouth. “You did well, Cynthia. Hawkeye and Black Widow might be out of the running for a while with the injuries they might have gotten from that fight.”

Thea gave no physical reaction, but Andrea knew her well enough to recognize she’d be surprised at the praise. There was no chance that Thea would think that the compliment meant she had the Baron’s approval. She would continue to be on edge, which was probably her father’s entire angle with that compliment. He always did have a few plans going at once.

“The men we lost can be replaced,” the Baron added.

Otto nodded. “I’ll start recruitment campaigns immediately. Focus on mercenaries that we could potentially move over…”

The Baron nodded. “Do it, Otto.” Thea rolled her eyes. “Cynthia, we’ll need you momentarily. Do what you need to do in Germany, visit your pet, and then call your mother. I need her here in Germany. I’m eager for her to meet the Captain herself soon enough.”

The redhead didn’t look happy, but she nodded reluctantly. “She can be here in days. I’m assuming with Aiden.”

“Yes. I want my family under one roof for once. We need to plan.” He looked at Otto before saying, “I will be contacting Gideon to bring Stephanie and Sophia.” Before the flash of rage behind Thea’s eyes could turn into a vocal explosion, the Baron added, “They will be far away from you. But this is now war, Cynthia. And your father understood war.”

Thea didn’t say a word and instead walked away. It wasn’t jealousy that put a wedge between Stephanie and Thea. It was the simple fact that the two were mothers of the children of HYDRA’s heir. Their children were in direct competition. Andrea planned to remain far, far out of the crossfire.

“It worked though?” Andrea asked quietly. Her father might have expressed tentative approval at her daughter, at her plan, but if her plots hadn’t worked, then her life might be forfeit.

Her father’s smile brought out genuine relief in her heart. He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. Otto even looked happy for her, as happy as he could for another human being.

Andrea von Strucker was back at her honored place. Now, she just had to stay in it.

“Your plan worked perfectly, Andrea,” he assured her. “I expected nothing less. This was the first fight, and I count this as our victory. Now this war can truly begin.”

Years down the road, Andrea would only wonder if her father realized what this war would cost HYDRA – and how few von Struckers would still be standing at the end of it.

* * *

**February 2015 – The Plaza Hotel, New York**

Sharon wondered if Stark genetics meant an inherited flare for the dramatic. The Maria Stark Charity Gala was usually at a luxurious hotel in New York. The 2015 Gala was no different. But Tony had never gone so far as to rent the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel.

It seemed like everyone of everyone was at the gala that night. She’d caught sight of newscasters, actors, politicians, the who’s who of New York and beyond. She was pretty sure she’d caught sight of a member of the British Royal Family somewhere.

Tony personally arranged invitations for her family before she could even ask, but that was to be expected. A few Sousas usually ended up at the gala each year, though this was the first year that Tony managed to get all the adults there. It was also the first year that the twins would be attending.

She was convinced Tony paid a photographer to get pictures of her whole family. She was absolutely going to get a framed copy of Dan and Katie underneath the chandelier, a grin on his face and a laugh on hers. She knew that the photo taken of her and Mike was great, and there was one of her, Dan, Tommy, and Colleen she knew would be taking a place of honor on Colleen’s wall when it was printed. Her family was scattering at that point – Mike dragging Jack around to introduce him to some old Armed Forces pals, Colleen chatting easily with the Mayor of New York, Lizzie fearlessly cornering a few senators, Tommy hiding from Will’s reporting partner Christine, and the entire family clearly enjoying themselves.

It was going to be a good night. Sharon was more than ready for one, even if this wasn’t her definition of relaxation.

She was halfway to the main ballroom when Pepper caught her. They walked in together, Sharon trying to keep at least a foot or two of distance. Pepper was visible. Sharon might be well-known in certain circles, but Sharon was not, and she did want to keep her identity quiet to those who might not need to know who she was.

“Damn,” Sharon hummed as she stepped into the impeccably decorated ballroom, waiters weaving between the crowd, passing out snacks and drinks, a full bar on the far side of the room. “This is… impressive.”

Pepper sighed. She was as elegant and gorgeous as she’d ever been at any event, of course, her hair held back in a perfect bun, and her gown flattering and a deep navy blue that shimmered with every step she made. Sharon’s own dress was one-shouldered and floor length, the color of snow, and her hair had been very carefully curled to go down her back.

“He put it here on purpose. Said that since the Avengers are a thing again, he wants to make sure that he puts on a united front, which means spending a lot of money and inviting lots of important people,” the CEO explained. “I suggested the Plaza as a joke. He took me seriously.”

“I think he just wanted to make my life hard,” the dark-haired woman at Pepper’s side muttered. She had a Stark tablet in her hand, and she scowled briefly as she read over the screen.

“Tony knows better than to antagonize you, Faith,” Pepper pointed out. “I’d be pissed if he lost me the best assistant I’ve had.”

“I’m not allowed to quit at this point, Willow’s too attached to Morgan.” Faith had been hired directly after the Killian incident, and she’d proven herself beyond competent at her job as Pepper’s personal assistant – and surprisingly competent at handling Tony. The fact that she’d provided a nanny in her girlfriend Willow was another plus.

Pepper laughed. “If you need to sneak up to see her at any time, feel free. Just warn me so I know to keep an eye on Tony.”

“I’ll take you up on that.” Faith swiped the screen of the pad. “Pepper, you’re at the head table, center front row. Sharon, Avengers’ table, one behind the head table. Top donors are on either side of the head table, Miss Potts, including Sasha Hammer on the left.”

Pepper paused, and Sharon frowned slightly when she saw the look on his face. “Who’s with Sasha Hammer?”

“Just a bodyguard. She’s somewhere near the bar, most of the bodyguards are sneaking there to be inconspicuous.” Pepper’s shoulders relaxed, and Sharon raised a brow. Pepper silently shook her head, heading off the inquiry. “Emily Lyman-Osborn and Tina Minoru are at the right table, both husbands were unable to attend, but Mrs. Lyman-Osborn did bring her daughter and her daughter’s best friend.”

“If it’s a choice between her or her husband, I’d rather deal with Emily,” Pepper muttered. She squeezed Sharon’s shoulder. “Go on, presentations are later on tonight, and cocktails are going on in and around here. Tony even made sure little cheeseburgers were on the catering menu.”

“Your boyfriend knows me far too well.” Sharon glanced around, and resisted the urge to play with her curls. She’d spent too much time on it to ruin it this early in the evening. “I’ll go check on the other Avengers, make sure that Clint or Bruce haven’t made a break for freedom yet.”

Pepper snorted. “Good luck, Head of Asset Management.”

“Remember to give me a good Christmas bonus and we’ll call it even.” Sharon winked at Pepper before heading to some of the small tables near the bar.

Five of the six Avengers, plus a few others, were gathered around a few of the small tables. Sharon was impressed that they’d managed to get the men into suits. Natasha was always easygoing about getting dressed up, and she was sure she led the charge in making sure they were dressed appropriately.

Clint, Steve, and Bruce looked like they’d rather be anywhere but there, Natasha was as impassive as normal, and Thor looked surprisingly at ease – Sharon mused that events like this were something he was used to as a Prince of Asgard. She was sure that the presence of Jane and Jane’s mother Nancy was a big factor as well.

“What happened to mingling?” Sharon wondered as she came over. Her tone was teasing. She noticed a glass of white wine waiting, and she winked at Steve’s smirk. Yeah, he knew her well at that point.

Natasha snorted. “I’ve been mingling. Clint even played nice with a few people.”

“And yet that doesn’t mean I can go home yet,” Clint deadpanned.

“Do you really want to waste the hotel room Stark paid for?” Natasha wondered. The archer perked up at that, and Sharon rolled her eyes fondly.

“It officially ends at 11 pm, and there’s the afterparty at the bar,” Bruce said. “I don’t plan on going to that last part. No offense, guys.”

“You’re going, we’re all being forced to at least appear at it,” Natasha corrected. She shot him a look before saying, “It’s team bonding, Bruce. We all suffer together.”

The scientist gave an exhausted sigh, and Sharon shook her head with a little laugh. “I thought Kate was coming to this,” Sharon mentioned to Clint as she sipped at the wine, settling next to Steve at the table. “Something about her dad dragging her here?”

Judging from the scowl on Clint’s face, she’d hit a sensitive spot. “She got out of it!” Clint complained. “She claims that she’s sick. She’s not. She’s watching _Dog Cops_ and eating pizza and laughing at me over text.”

“She’s clearly the smartest of all of us,” Bruce said.

“Agreed,” Steve said. He shook his head as he readjusted his jacket, looking back over at Sharon. “You… you look nice, Sharon.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Sharon replied, smiling quietly at him. She raised her wine glass and tried to ignore the slightest bit of heat that slipped to her cheeks. “C’mon, guys. We can get through this, and the afterparty will be more fun. It’s people that we actually like.”

“Am I invited?” Nancy wondered as she looked between her daughter and son-in-law. Sharon remembered she was a very successful artist – she would be useful at events like this. “I mean, I’m a cool mom. I should absolutely be invited to an Avengers afterparty.”

Thor laughed, and Jane gave a sigh that could only come from an embarrassed child. “Yes, Mom, you’re invited. Unless you want to go up to the hotel suite after the gala’s over and take Erik from Willow. He’s a night owl, he’ll be awake, you can spend time with him.”

Nancy paused, scowling furiously. “Difficult choice.”

“You’re here for days yet, you have plenty of time for both,” Thor assured her. Sharon thought it was kind of adorable how Thor clearly adored his mother-in-law. It was nice to see someone had a normal extended family and support system outside the Avengers. Especially considering the amount of family Thor lost over the past few years.

A thought crossed Sharon’s mind a moment later. “Nancy, remind me to introduce you to my aunt at some point tonight.” Nancy had to be constantly worried about her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson – Colleen constantly worried about her and Tony. They could bond easily. “I think you guys would get along well.”

The London-born artist perked up immediately. “I’m always ready for a new mom friend. We can complain about you children and your lack of respect.”

Jane glared at Sharon. “Thanks for encouraging her, Sharon.”

The former SHIELD agent smiled cheerfully and raised her nearly empty glass of wine. “Always, Jane.”

Steve gave a little smile and sipped at his brandy before glancing between the others. He wasn’t the most comfortable here, but he knew how to play the role of a dancing monkey. The USO shows had taught him enough. And at least the people he did call friends were just as uncomfortable as he was.

“What’s with the standing around, wallflowers?” Tony wondered as he came over. Rhodey was with him, and Sharon grinned, hugging him quickly. “C’mon, mingle, show yourselves off.”

Clint rolled his eyes. “Dog and pony show, huh?”

“I thought you liked dogs, Barton. C’mon, throw me a bone.”

The archer threw a balled-up napkin at him, and Natasha swatted his arm lightly in a not-so-serious rebuttal. Tony smirked and stepped to the bar, heading to get a drink for himself and Rhodey. Sharon noticed the billionaire grabbing refills for the rest of them, and she moved to help carry them over.

“You’re used to this, right, Rhodes?” Steve asked.

“Far more than I want to be,” Rhodey admitted, sighing in exasperation. “Mattie’s at a lot of charity galas. Part of our marriage vows were agreeing to go to work events for each other without complaining that much. That doesn’t mean I enjoy any of this.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “I’m curious, were the work events part genuinely part of your vows?”

“We literally met at a gala Stark Industries was hosting. So yes, agreeing to suffer through work events were included in the vows.”

“Two out of three of their children were conceived after galas,” Tony called over from the bar.

“Shut up, Tony.” Rhodey sighed before saying, “Between her job and mine, we’re used to galas, let’s just say that.”

Clint snorted. “Relationship goals, I guess.”

“You’ve been married how long?” Steve wondered as he took Sharon’s wine glass and moved to get a refill for them both.

“Forever,” Tony called.

“Fourteen years,” Rhodey corrected.

“There’s a difference?”

The Airman gave a long-suffering sigh and looked to the ceiling. “I named that man my eldest’s godfather. God help us all.”

“You love me and you know it, honey bear.”

Sharon was fairly sure if Rhodey rolled his eyes anymore, they’d get stuck in the back of his head. She and Tony both returned with drinks a moment later, and Sharon handed Steve another glass of brandy. He shot her a grateful nod, and Sharon tapped her wine glass against his a second later.

“Thank you all for actually showing up,” Tony said, surprisingly serious. “I appreciate it.” He raised a glass to Nancy. “Though the MVP of tonight is you, Nancy. The bidding for your painting is getting cutthroat. Christine Gallagher might actually throw a glass at Tiberius Stone if it looks like he’s getting close to winning.”

“Tell the loser to contact me for a commission and everyone wins,” Nancy replied as she finished her first glass of wine before going for the already delivered second.

“Will do.” Tony glanced up when he saw a few approaching people, barely holding back a groan. “Oh, hey, look. The US Army is making an appearance tonight.”

“They’re Air Force and Navy, Tony,” Rhodey corrected with a sigh.

“Yeah, yeah, the older one is still a jackass.”

Sharon rolled her eyes and put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Be nice,” she scolded. If Pepper or Faith weren’t around to reel Tony in, she would have to. Especially considering what Armed Forces men were in front of her. She’d worked hard to keep on good terms with them, dammit, she would not let Tony ruin it.

Natasha noticed who was coming, and Sharon saw the moment where she was torn between witnessing something potentially gossip-worthy and being the sane one to get Bruce out. “C’mon, Bruce,” she mentioned. “I haven’t seen Sharon’s aunt in a long time, I can introduce you. Nancy, you should come too, I can do Sharon’s job for her.”

She led the scientist and artist off as Sharon rolled her eyes. Clint made his own excuse to duck out, and Sharon caught Thor and Jane sneaking off out of the corner of her eye, potentially to talk with someone or to sneak off and check on Erik, she wasn’t sure. Either way, it left her, Tony, Rhodey, and Steve to meet the interlopers.

“Long time no see, gentlemen,” Tony greeted, raising his glass before taking another sip. His tone made it clear it hadn’t been long enough.

Sharon shot him a look. “It’s a genuine long time no see from me,” she promised, setting her wine glass on the table as she stepped forward.

“Well, that one I believe,” the older man said, raising a brow as he looked back over at her. He did offer a hand, and Sharon shook it before shooting Tony a look to do the same. The handshake was firm, and while he was mostly polite, there was some genuine warmth to his face. “It’s good to see you again, Sharon.”

The fact that he’d used her first name was a massive sign that he might be open to working with her later, and she could have laughed out of relief for it. He might be having petty arguments with Coulson, but the Avengers were not SHIELD. “You too, Glenn.” Sharon’s gaze flickered to the younger man, and Steve watched as her smile grew immediately. “And I guess you too, Brian.”

Major Brian Talbot gave a laugh, and stepped forward. Instead of a hand, he moved to give her a quick hug, and Sharon accepted it instantly. “It’s great to see you, Sharon. You look fantastic.”

“Not so shabby yourself.” Sharon turned to the older Talbot. “Is Carla here tonight? I’d love to see her.”

“Home with George, he came down with a stomach bug,” the General said. “I’ll tell her you say hi though, she’ll be glad to hear from you.”

“Thank you.” Sharon looked back at the younger Talbot. “You his plus one?”

“Don’t want him to potentially ruin a potential mutually beneficial intelligence relationship, do we?” Brian asked innocently. Glenn shot him a glare, and Brian only raised an eyebrow at his brother, daring him to contradict him.

Sharon had witnessed more than one fight between the Talbot brothers, and immediately stepped in. “Steve, meet General Glenn Talbot of the US Air Force and Major Brian Talbot of the US Navy. Glenn, Brian, meet Captain Steve Rogers.”

“Good to meet you both.” Steve saluted them, and while Glenn’s was a bit slower, Brian’s was immediate. Sharon could remember one of the few times Brian met Peggy, where he’d been enraptured hearing stories about the world. More than one little boy went into the army idolizing Steve Rogers. Brian admired him and chose his own path in the Navy.

“It’s an honor, Captain,” Brian greeted, the hand in his salute moving in front of him as an offering. He shook Steve’s hand firmly before saying, “I’ve heard a lot of good things.”

“Thank you,” Steve replied politely. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Sharon. All good things.”

Brian snorted. “That’s not comforting.” Sharon rolled her eyes, and Brian only smirked back at her. Sharon let herself believe it was the wine that caused the slight blush at the top of her cheekbone.

“I’m assuming no General Ross tonight?” Glenn asked, looking between Tony and Sharon. “I believe he was invited.”

“Invited yes. He declined.” Tony gave a dry smile. “I think he’s still a bit disappointed about the _Lerna_.”

“I think everyone is a bit disappointed about the _Lerna_.” Sharon knew Glenn enough to know that he was probably more annoyed that it’d gotten as bad as it had and not that Thor and Tony took it down. He’d been in charge of trying to find HYDRA leftovers, and the _Lerna_ had been completely unknown. If Sora Larsen hadn’t been taken, they might have never found the _Lerna_.

Rhodey exchanged a look with Sharon before saying, “Glenn, c’mon. I think I owe you a drink from the last Air Force Ball”

Glenn gave a genuine laugh. “You owe Hale a few more if I remember, but I’ll take you up on that.” Rhodey snorted, and a genuine smirk crossed Glenn’s face.

“I should go check on Pepper,” Tony mentioned, clearly eager not to go anywhere with Glenn Talbot. Sharon was relieved she didn’t have to subtly keep the two away from each other.

Tony headed off in the direction of Pepper, and Sharon, Brian, and Steve watched as Rhodey and Glenn headed towards the bar. Bruce and Natasha were hiding there, but to Sharon’s absolute relief, Mattie Washington-Rhodes intercepted them. She pulled them to the other side of the bar, where Happy and his wife Beverly were chatting. No one could say no to Mattie, not even a general and Rhodey’s technical superior.

“I’m suddenly reminded why Carla is friends with Mattie,” Brian admitted.

“They both have that motherly _do-not-fuck-with-me_ attitude,” Sharon noted.

“Is that the same attitude Pepper has?” Steve wondered.

“Yes.” Brian and Sharon replied in unison.

Steve laughed at that. “Well, then hopefully Mattie can keep any fights from happening tonight. If anyone can, it’s her.”

“Glenn might be as cuddly as porcupine, but he knows damned well what’s at risk if tonight goes wrong,” Brian said. He looked between Steve and Sharon before saying, “You didn’t hear it from me, but your little jaunt to New Zealand? It got a lot of attention. A lot of positive attention. And considering Rhodes’ relationship with Stark…”

Sharon sighed. “At least the Air Force wants to keep things open.”

“Navy too,” Brian pointed out. He shot Sharon a look. “Mike threatened to beat the shit out of Ross if he showed up at his mother’s funeral. In front of the Secretary of Defense and the President. You don’t think he’d punch up the chain of command if it meant supporting you?”

Steve smirked at that and sipped at his drink. “I knew I liked him,” he muttered quietly.

“Mike’s fantastic,” Brian agreed. He looked back at Sharon before saying, “If you have to work tonight, I can head off. I should say hi to Mike while I’m here, and I haven’t seen Lizzie or Jack since we broke up…”

“Make sure you say hi to Colleen, she’s here too tonight. You don’t have to go anywhere though, I’m off duty tonight,” Sharon said. She gave a little smile. “Can’t work all the time, right?”

Brian looked back over at her with a little smile. Sharon thought she saw a guard cross over Brian’s face, but she thought a moment later she had to be imagining it. “I’d love to hear a few stories too, Captain. We’ve got a few mutual friends, obviously…”

Steve shook his head. “Don’t let me interrupt you catching up. It’s clearly been a while. I’ll go and see if Faith needs me to be used as a meat shield for anyone.”

“We appreciate your sacrifice. I’ll repay you in coffee,” Sharon replied solemnly. She smiled quietly as she watched him head off towards where Pepper’s forever-beleaguered and probably far underpaid assistant was trying to handle fifteen potential fires at once.

“Seems like a good guy,” Brian noted.

“You had any doubt?” Sharon wondered as she downed the rest of her wine. She leaned forward onto the table, giving a little smile as she looked back up.

“Not at all.” Brian watched as he saw Faith tried to convince Steve to go and mingle with a group he clearly wasn’t happy to. “What’s the phrase? Don’t meet your heroes. It’s nice to see that one of your heroes is as good as they say he was.”

Sharon’s mind flashed back to Steve’s very human breakdown on the jet back to America after the gulag. Steve Rogers was very much human. Anyone who knew him knew that. But Brian didn’t know him as Steve Rogers – Brian knew him as Captain Rogers, war hero and super soldier.

She was briefly reminded, again, of just how few people knew him as Steve Rogers.

“He’s human,” Sharon said. “But he’s still the best person I know.”

She’d meant to say that he was one of the best people she knew. But Steve Rogers was genuinely the best person she knew. He was a good person. He wanted to do good, help people, and he had a heart of gold. If he cared about you, he would go through hell, high water, or an exploding gulag to drag you to safety.

Steve Rogers was the best person Sharon Carter knew – and she would go to her grave saying it.

“Seems like it.” Brian glanced back down at her, readjusting his weight to put an arm on the table. “It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a fight between Tony and anyone tonight though.”

“Already better than the last gala you and I attended,” Sharon laughed. “God, four years ago. That’s crazy to me.”

“Hard to believe.” Brian slid past her when a waiter passed with little flutes of champagne, grabbing two and handing one to her. “So. The base in New Zealand. Got any juicy details that the chain of command isn’t going to let slip?”

Sharon hummed and sipped at the champagne. A pleasant buzz was vibrating in her head, but there wasn’t any reason to stop drinking just yet. “I think that’s classified intel, don’t you?”

Brian laughed. “You and classified intel. You’re not SHIELD anymore, Shar.”

“No.” Sharon’s eyes flickered across the room to each Avenger – to Thor and Jane, chatting amicably with a redhead girl and a dark-haired boy Sharon briefly identified as Nora Osborn and her best friend Carlton Drake, Steve with Clint watching the room and being begged by Faith to mingle, Tony with Pepper for a private moment to recharge at a small table, and Natasha keeping Bruce occupied at the bar. “I think what I’m doing is bigger.”

There was an odd look on Brian’s face. “Good,” he said simply. “You always were made for something great.”

“You and Colleen always said that.” He’d always been supportive of her. Even before their breakup, he’d never once asked her to consider leaving SHIELD for him. That was why they’d broken up in the end of it – both put too much pride in their careers, and couldn’t give each other the time they needed.

“Well, Colleen remains one of the smartest people I know, right with Mom and Carla, so I take that as a huge compliment,” Brian laughed.

“You really should say hi to her before you leave,” Sharon told him. “Mike too. You know he’ll make you do a boring mission as revenge.”

“Mike is known to do that.” Brian turned serious. “I was worried. After the Triskelion. Until Mike told me you got out alive…”

Sharon sighed, glancing back up at him as she tugged a curl behind her hair. “We’ve been broken up for a few years, Brian. And… and there were a lot of people to find, to let them know I was alive…”

“I know.” Brian grabbed another champagne from a passing waiter. Sharon grabbed her own as they passed. It seemed like it’d be an alcohol heavy night even before these conversation topics. “It’s not me being upset you didn’t contact your ex-boyfriend when your entire professional life fell apart-“

“Rub it in a bit, why don’t you?” There was no venom in Sharon’s voice, only exhaustion. The glass of champagne went down in one gulp.

“You know I’m not trying to do that.”

“I know.” She looked back at him, feeling every bit of the last nine or so months hanging on her shoulders. “It’s been a long year. And it hasn’t even been a year yet.”

“If it’s been stressful on my end watching everything, I can’t imagine how you’ve been doing.”

Sharon scoffed. “In the span of three months, my life fell apart. The organization I devoted my entire adult life to joining, strengthening, and working for was destroyed from within. The person who always thought the most of me died six feet away from me while I was asleep. And now… it’s been almost a year and I still feel like I’m barely treading water.”

It was a stark admission. She hadn’t told anyone that just yet. But Brian was someone she deeply trusted, with her life. With the lives of the people she loved.

She swallowed. “Can we change the subject?”

“Of course.” Brian reached out and squeezed her shoulder, and Sharon shot him a grateful look. “You choose the topic, Carter.”

“Thanks, Major.” It might have been the alcohol, it might have been the way warmth spread through her when Brian touched her shoulder, but Sharon chose to be bold. “What’s going on with your love life?”

Of all the topics, it was clear Brian hadn’t expected it, judging from the way he choked on the sip of champagne. “Of all the topics, that one?”

“You told me I can choose!” Sharon laughed before raising a brow at him, tilting her head. “C’mon, no dates?”

Brian snorted. “No serious ones. And with at the level my career is at, a dating app isn’t a choice. And Glenn’s lectured me too much about fishing off the company pier for me to even think about dating a coworker.”

“Glenn always was a smart guy.” Sharon laughed. “Though I still can’t tell if he approved or me or only liked me.”

“He’s never liked SHIELD that much. He might not have approved of you, but he does respect you a hell of a lot. And that’s harder to get.”

Sharon glanced in the direction of Glenn. He was still chatting with Mattie, and Sharon blinked when she saw Glenn genuinely laugh at something the psychologist said. She would be surprised, but this was also the woman who could handle being Tony Stark’s therapist. Mattie could probably take over the world if she wanted to.

“I’m guessing Glenn working directly with us isn’t a possibility?” she asked.

“Not right now,” Brian said. She’d expected him to be honest, and she wasn’t disappointed. “He knows you know something about SHIELD. He can’t outright accuse you. But he’s hot on SHIELD’s tail.”

She mentally debated for a few seconds before speaking. “If he gets close, I need you to warn me.”

Brian paused. “You really asking me to do that?”

“There are a few people working with SHIELD that cannot be found. If any word gets out to any organization, it will get to HYDRA. You and I know how leaks are. And there are some people in SHIELD whose lives will be at huge risk if there’s any hint of them being there.”

If HYDRA got any hint of Bucky working with SHIELD, it would end in blood. Sharon had no idea what Glenn might do if he found out the Winter Soldier was with SHIELD. But she was not going to let that situation happen if she could prevent it.

“Genuine life or death for people involved?” Brian asked quietly.

“Life or death… but most likely far worse.” If HYDRA could get Bucky back in their grasp, they would. And Sharon would not see Steve nearly kill himself trying to save him again.

“…I’ll do what I can.”

Sharon closed her eyes, relief washing down her entire body. She didn’t thank him verbally, instead reaching out and squeezing his hand tightly, the gratitude clear on her face. Brian nodded softly back at her, squeezing it back. Brian knew her well – if she had to ask, it would be important.

Their hands might have touched for a moment too long. Sharon was the one to pull away first, taking a deep breath before glancing back up at him. Brian was pointedly not meeting her eyes, instead watching the crowd. They’d never been the best at emotions. Maybe that was the secondary cause of their breakup.

Sharon sighed as she looked out at the crowd. “Clint’s glaring a bit too furiously at someone, so I need to stop it.” She knew damned well Clint was death glaring Derek Bishop, and considering the fact that keeping Kate’s association with the Avengers secret was paramount, an Avenger glaring at the CEO of Bishop Publishing was a great way to ruin that plan. “I should go put out that fire, I’m pretty sure Pepper’s assistant is already going to have an aneurysm from stress.”

“I should probably go and make sure Glenn doesn’t accidentally cause a diplomatic incident, he’s far too close to the Russian UN ambassador for my comfort,” Brian mentioned.

“Have to avoid that, right?” Sharon looked back up at him. “I’m… it was good to see again, Brian.”

Brian smiled softly. It was the same smile he’d given during their breakup, which had been understanding and quiet and had taken her months to get over completely. “You too, Sharon. Keep in touch, okay?”

As she watched Brian start to walk away, Sharon made a spontaneous decision to, for the first time in a while, do something somewhat selfish.

“Brian.”

The Army major turned at the sound of his name, raising a brow.

Sharon gave a coy smile. “There’s an after party at the hotel bar right after the gala. Exclusive. I’ll put you on the list. Mike’s coming, Colleen’s coming, a lot of people are coming. It might be fun.”

“Are you going?” Brian asked.

She smirked. “You think I’d be inviting you if I wasn’t planning on going?”

Brian grinned immediately. “I’ll get rid of Glenn. He’s not fun at parties.”

He slipped back into the crowd. They might both be respected members of the Armed Forces, but Brian would always been the mischievous little brother of an overprotective big brother. He’d always been down for a good party, and even if they were both closer to thirty than twenty-one, a night of fun wasn’t a bad thing.

Her life had been coming full circle as of late. Maybe, Sharon mused, there were a few things that would be worth a revisit – and maybe a few people were too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Melanie Kraus** \- Kim Matula  
>  **Faith Trudeau** \- Italia Ricci  
>  **Major Brian Talbot** \- John Krasinski  
> 


End file.
